2017 NFL Draft: Carolina Panthers select Derek Barnett

The defensive picks keep on coming. The Carolina Panthers are the next team on the clock and general manager cram9030 is the one stepping to the podium. With the eighth pick in the 2017 Pride Of Detroit Community Mock Draft, the Panthers select defensive end Derek Barnett from Tennessee. Below is cram9030’s explanation for the pick:

The Panthers are in an odd spot here; it would have been great to get Marshon Lattimore or one of the safeties. Everyone knows that the offensive tackles on the team are not that great and that Matt Kalil is probably not the answer (Okay, everyone but Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman knows), but there are no OTs worth taking this high. I have heard the rumbling that the Panthers love both O.J. Howard and Leonard Fournette, but with Greg Olsen still doing his thing and just extending Jonathan Stewart those picks just don't make sense and could be addressed much later in the draft.

A pick that does make sense, though, is Derek Barnett. The Panther's defensive ends are either long in the tooth or better suited to be rotational players. A lot of people are down on Barnett because this not the best athlete but, boy, did he produce in college: 20 sacks over the last two seasons. He uses his hands well to keep blockers away from his body and perform a move from his bag-o-tricks at the right moment. Nothing flashes about him, but you could see him being a Charles Johnson like player throughout his career.