Day 1 draft winners: Stewart, Otah and Carolina most of all

By Os Davis  |   Sunday, April 27, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Carolina Panthers
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Let's take a different tack this year after Day 1 of the draft, shall we? It takes years (or at a season) to see how this talent will all plan out, injuries happen, personality conflicts arise ... a million things can take place before opening day, much less Hall of Fame Day 2027, so this year, sobriety will rule and no immediate knee-jerk reaction will be presented here.

Yeah, surrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre. We wouldn’t be football fans if, after spending weeks constructing and deconstructing and reconstructing mock drafts, we weren’t immediately prepared to argue the validity or non- of the 212th overall selection, right? Call it closure, call it tension release, call it the power of the Internet, but most of all, just judge away, pal!

This follower’s Day 1 winners: The Carolina Panthers.

The Jungle Cats get top scores across the board for their Saturday performance. Drafting for need? Check. Trading and maneuvering to the team’s advantage (at least in the short term)? Check. When possible, taking the best athlete still on the board? Check. Making things exciting for the fans and media? Check.

At No. 13 went Jonathan Stewart; a bit surprising that the reaction from Carolina is as yet lacking in vitriol but maybe devotees down there are of above-average perceptiveness. Most mocks had Stewart going in the back end of the first round; at RealFootball365, we had him going at No. 31. Panthers management controlled their giddiness and cleverly noted that a number of quality offensive linemen – the guys Carolina truly coveted – remained: In fact, five first-round OTs and one OG who would be drafted in the first round were available to the Chicago Bears at No. 14.

So cooler heads prevailed in Carolina, producing a sweet win-win situation for all parties involved: DeAngelo Williams takes less punishment, Stewart effectively gets a pay raise before his first paycheck, and the Panthers gain a de rigeur split backfield.

Panthers GM Marty Hurney and company stayed frosty as Chris Williams and Branden Albert came off the board; perhaps able to relax knowing Matt Millen and the Detroit Lions were in front of them, Carolina bided its time before ultimately trading up with the Philadelphia Eagles. Sure enough, the Lions went with the tackle in which the Panthers had insufficient interest, Gosder Cherilus, and Carolina bagged Jeff Otah. (Coming from the Pitt Panthers, Otah can still wear the gear, eh?)

RF365 live blogging at this point reported that “Panthers fans didn't seem to like this pick” (What was that about perceptiveness?) and dubbed Otah “a bit raw.” Raw Otah may be, but it takes little more than some medium-term perspective to consider what offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson, whose own pedigree is on the line – might be able to do with this guy.

In a draft wherein its divisional rivals fared so-so, Carolina stands to have gained a couple of mainstays with potential impact in the near future. While the hypesters are contemplating the youthful combination of JaMarcus Russell-Darren McFadden created through the draft in Oakland, here’s to thinking the less obviously flashy Otah-Stewart tandem will prove just as productive for the Panthers.

Until then, Carolina fans have time to collect thoughts after their roller-coaster ride of a 2008 NFL Draft, Day 1. Interestingly done, Mr. Hurney.

Calling 'em as we see 'em throughout the year at RealFootball365.com.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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