Carolina Panthers 2012 NFL Draft Rewind
Players drafted: Seven
Players drafted still on the roster: Five
First round pick: Luke Kuechly ILB, Boston College
Notable Late round pick/UDFA: Josh Norman P, Wisconsin
One cannot begin to break down the Panthers 2012 draft without talking about first round selection, Luke Kuechly.
Although inside linebacker may not be the most glorious position, Kuechly has dominated since entering the league by putting up ridiculous tackle totals and becoming a force in both the pass and run games. He has racked up two Pro Bowl selections in the process. Grade: Four
Second round pick, guard Amini Silatolu from Midwestern State, has seen his playing time steadily decrease over his career due to injuries, logging career lows in games played in 2014. Grade: One
Frank Alexander, a fourth round defensive end from Oklahoma, showed little promise in his rookie season but has struggled to see the field due to two violations of the league's substance abuse policy. Grade: one
Another fourth round pick, Joe Adams, a receiver from Arkansas, failed to make the Panthers roster his rookie season and has bounced between the CFL and NFL over his pro career. Grade: zero
Fifth round corner Josh Norman from Coastal Carolina has been the Panthers’ starting corner for most of the last few seasons. In 2014, although he did miss a few starts, he still recorded career highs in pass deflections and picks: Grade: Five
Brad Nortman, a Wisconsin punter selected in the sixth round, has been the Panthers starting punter each of the last three seasons. Grade: Two.
Carolina’s final round selection was seventh round safety DJ Campbell from Cal. He wold spend one year in Carolina and is now with Arizona, his fourth team. Grade: 0
The Panthers did find a gem in UDFA tackle Nate Chandler from UCLA. For his first two seasons Chandler was a valuable reserve and in 2014 he started a career high eleven games. Grade: Five
Total Grade: 18
By all accounts, this draft is a great haul and meets all the check marks. Hit on first round player, find multiple late round starters, find valuable depth pieces, even hit on a UDFA, Carolina did it all in this draft.
