Carolina Panthers Select Vernon Butler in First Round of 2016 NFL Draft

Carolina Panthers Select Vernon Butler to add some depth along the defensive line.

This pick was a head scratcher for me. The Panthers already have Kawann Short, Paul Soliai, and Star Loutulelei at defensive tackle. I want to start out by saying I am a big fan of Vernon Butler but I just don’t get this pick. The Panthers are very deep on the defensive line and could have used help at offensive tackle and cornerback with the departure of Josh Norman last week.

Let’s talk about Butler though since he is the pick. Standing at 6’4 323 lbs Butler will be able to clog up the middle of that defense for the Panthers. At least the Panthers can say they have the deepest defensive line in football now. With each defensive tackle weighing at least 320 lbs, everyone should be very well rested. Butlers frame and length will be able to eat up double teams and he is able to collapse running lanes fairly easy. Sometimes Butler does get himself into trouble by playing too high but again this is a coachable issue.

With the Panthers choosing not to address an area of need with their first pick they will have to in the second and third round. Depending who is on the board with the 62nd overall pick they can go a variety of ways. The Panthers offensive tackle position was exposed during the Super Bowl against the Broncos. If Le’Raven Clark, Spriggs, and Whitehair are all off the board an interesting prospect would be Shon Coleman of Auburn. With Coleman now healthy the Panthers could get a steal here because if Coleman never got sick, he very well could have been a first round pick. Also an option at 62 is Mackensie Alexander of Clemson or Kendall Fuller of Virginia Tech.

The player I would have went with: Jason Spriggs OT Indiana