Pete Prisco’s Assessment of Carolina Panthers’ Draft Class is Perplexing

NFL mock drafts are opinion based, and so are NFL draft grades. It’s the same with NFL power rankings. Every writer and fan is entitled.

Longtime NFL writer Pete Prisco of CBS Sports recently handed out his marks for last week’s three-day procedure in Pittsburgh. In terms of the Carolina Panthers, who made a total of seven selections, he assigned general manager Dan Morgan’s class a “C.” Of the many outlets that have graded the 32 teams, Prisco seems to be in the minority as numerous writers have heaped praise on what the team did with their seven picks.

Not a lot of love for the Panthers’ pick of T Monroe Freeling

Prisco liked the club’s second selection in the second round. “Safety Zakee Wheatley was a ball hawk at Penn State who showed up a lot on tape. He isn’t a big guy, but he will come up and tackle. On the other hand, he wasn’t crazy about Morgan’s choice on Day 1. “I didn’t love the choice of Monroe Freeling in the first round. I thought he was a late-first, early-second-round guy. They also don’t really need him right now.”

DT Lee Hunter and C Sam Hecht were good additions

Then there was his overall assessment. “I didn’t love Freeling in the first round,” stated Prisco, “but second-round defensive tackle Lee Hunter is a quality player who will add a power presence inside. I also like fifth-round center Sam Hecht.”

To be accurate, there was no mention of Carolina’s three other picks: Wide receiver Chris Brazzell II (3-Tennessee), cornerback Will Lee III (4-Texas &M), and linebacker Jackson Kuwatch (7-Miami, Ohio). And perhaps he wasn’t overly impressed by those selections. However, his analysis regarding Hunter, Hecht and Wheatley was pretty positive, so it’s somewhat confusing as to why the Panthers landed such a mediocre grade?

For Pete’s sake, Panthers’ draft earned a C grade

Monroe Freeling — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On the surface, Prisco’s grade suggests that Morgan’s choice for Freeling with the 19th overall pick is what led to the average mark. It’s worth noting that he mentioned the University of Georgia tackle and his lack of love for the selection on two occasions.

In the end, draft grades are completely subjective and we really don’t know much until these players take the field. It wasn’t as if the Panthers were given a failing grade. It just appears that the total assessment didn’t quite match the “mark.”

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