And with the #13 pick in the 2008 Arrowhead Pride Community Mock Draft, the Carolina Panthers select:
Florida DE Derrick Harvey
stag with the pick:
All indications from Carolina are that if Clady is here, he's the pick. With Long and Clady (and, to a lesser extent, Williams) off the board already, the options for an OT that can waltz in on the first day of training camp and take the starting left tackle job are gone. The Carolina Panthers take a good, hard look at Pitt Panther Otah, but he's still too raw a project to be taking at this spot over the players that will be available in later rounds, especially in such a deep draft for o-linemen. Mendenhall is another intriguing player at this spot, but with Foster out of the way, Carolina is seriously hoping for DeAngelo Williams to take the reins and ride their zone-blocking scheme to glory (with Toefield as the bruiser/3rd-down back).
It's time for the Panthers to sack up and swing for the fences here. Gentlemen and gentlemen, I present super-stud Derrick Harvey. The Panthers desperately need someone who can take some pressure off Julius Peppers, whose production has seriously declined. The past few seasons have shown just how important DEs are in NFL defenses today (Strahan and Umenyiora, anyone?), and Harvey is one of those freakishly athletically gifted "tweeners" that have become some of the more dominant defensive players in the game (think Suggs, Ware, and Merriman). 6'4", 270lbs., and, from some accounts, still growing!
Plus, the freaking Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the damn NFC South last season. All you've really got to do is improve your D from middling to top-10 to win that division.
1. Miami Dolphins - QB Matt Ryan
2. St. Louis Rams - OT Jake Long
3. Atlanta Falcons - DT Glenn Dorsey
4. Oakland Raiders - DE Chris Long
5. Kansas City Chiefs - DT Sedrick Ellis
6. New York Jets - RB Darren McFadden
7. New England Patriots - DL Vernon Gholston
8. Baltimore Ravens - OT Ryan Clady
9. Cincinnati Bengals - OLB Keith Rivers
10. New Orleans Saints - CB Mike Jenkins
11. Buffalo Bills - CB Leodis McKelvin
12. Denver Broncos - OT Chris Williams
13. Carolina Panthers - DE Derrick Harvey
On the clock: Chicago Bears (kcchief1990)
Full list of AP mock draft participants
Let me add this minute long clip of Derrick Harvey playing against Jake Long. That's Long and Harvey going at it on the left side of Michigan's line. It's a double shot of first round draft prospects. - Chris