Panthers and Cody Latimer: Real or Smokescreen?

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B ack in June, the Bobcats used their first-round pick on Indiana’s Cody Zeller. That’s why athletes from Indiana typically get drafted – to play basketball. The Hoosiers haven’t had a football player taken in the first round of the NFL draft since the Giants took wideout Thomas Lewis in 1994.

But less than two weeks before the Panthers are on the clock with the 28th pick, it certainly seems like another Charlotte pro team could use its first-round selection on a guy named Cody who went to Indiana.

Latimer isn’t without basketball ties. A native of Dayton, hoops was his main sport before he finally tried football in high school. He was a quick learner. Latimer earned a scholarship to play his new sport at Indiana and his numbers drastically improved every year.

As a freshman, he had just 12 catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns. The next year he improved to 51, 805 and six. Then as a junior, he went for 72, 1,096 and nine. In January, he announced he was entering this year’s draft.

So Latimer went from a kid who didn’t play football until high school to an early entrant. But that fast rise doesn’t compare to what’s happened the last couple months.

He was given a third-round grade by the NFL’s draft advisory board, Cam Newton’s best friend Nolan Nawrocki claimed Latimer’s ceiling is as a No. 3 receiver and January foot surgery limited him to the bench press at February’s Combine.

But everything changed a month later. At his Pro Day, in front of staff from 19 teams – including the Panthers – Latimer ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash and tossed in a 39″ vertical jump. The fact he could run such a quick 40 – which would have ranked him third among wideouts at the Combine – so soon after foot surgery opened plenty of eyes.

In less than a month, Latimer’s gone from maybe a second-round pick to a one of the hottest risers into the first round.

Latimer’s skyrocketing status has many seeing him as a perfect fit for the Panthers, including TheBigLead’s Jason McIntyre. While it’s silly to put too much stock into pre-draft visits, Carolina has met with Latimer at least twice, including earlier this week.

So how much fire is around the smoke? I’m not yet sure how high Latimer is on the Panthers’ board, but I can tell you they’re not crazy on some of the offensive tackles plenty of folks see them taking at number 28. They’re going to add at least one receiver, but will they in the first and would it be Latimer?

Despite all the smokescreens this time of year, I believe the Panthers are truly interested in Latimer. He may not scream No. 1 receiver, but if there’s such a thing in the draft, he does seem to be a safe option.

Considering he was a top-5 pick, Zeller hasn’t done whole lot for the Bobcats his rookie season. If the Panthers ultimately use their first-rounder on a fellow Hoosier, they’d be taking a guy that’s hard to see not contributing and who’s just getting better.