Black and Blue Review
- When Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said, “I just think it’s important for us to keep the first three picks” Thursday night, many ruled out any chance he’d move up in the second or third round. But the question he was answering had to do with trading in the first round, and that would have cost one of his first three picks. It didn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t make a move Friday.
- With that said, guys the Panthers coveted started flying off the board quickly in the second round. So they took a look at who was left, what teams ahead of them needed, and got aggressive for someone they had given a first-round grade.
- Gettleman gave up a third- and sixth-rounder to jump 16 spots. His target was a big target. Devin Funchess may not have been the speedy weapon many fans were hoping for, but it gives Cam Newton two 6-foot-5 wideouts (Funchess, Kelvin Benjamin).
- Just like first-round pick Shaq Thompson, some teams were turned off by trying to figure out where to put Funchess. Is he a receiver or tight end? The Panthers see him strictly as a wideout.
- And just like Thompson, the Panthers took Funchess with matchups in mind. With Thompson, the goal is to avoid the mismatches Carolina used to face when it went into its nickel defense. With Funchess, the hope is a pair of 6-foot-5 wideouts, two passing catching tight ends (Greg Olsen, Ed Dickson) and two speedsters (Ted Ginn, Corey Brown) can help confuse defenses.