We all know about the Julius Peppers situation. It's very unlikely that he will be back with the Panthers next season.
The best thing for the Panthers to do, and what everyone thinks they will do, is to put the franchise tag on Peppers and then trade him for a first round draft pick, since they don't have one, and maybe a couple of other picks.
Let's assume that Peppers isn't with the Panthers next season, this is what the defensive line would look like next season. The starters at the ends would be Tyler Brayton and Charles Johnson, and the starters on the inside would be Maake Kemoeatu and Damione Lewis.
That's a pretty average defensive line, so the Panthers would need to make some changes, whether they be by the draft or free agency.
The top free agents at defensive end this off season are: Terrell Suggs (Baltimore), Bertrand Berry and Antonio Smith (Arizona), Chris Canty (Dallas), Igor Olshansky (San Diego), Demetric Evans (Washington), Chauncey Davis (Atlanta), and Ebenezer Ekuban (Denver).
Some of the top prospects in the NFL Draft at the defensive end position are: Everette Brown (FSU), Brian Orakpo (Texas), Michael Johnson (GT), Aaron Maybin (Penn State), Paul Kruger (Utah), Tyson Jackson (LSU), Larry English (Northern Illinois), and Connor Barwin (Cincy).
This year's draft is deep at the defensive end position, and if the Panthers trade Peppers and get a first round draft pick, I would look for the Panthers to draft a Defensive End in the first round, and if not in the second round.
It doesn't look like Peppers will be back next season, so the Panthers will be looking to add somebody during the off season.
It will be next to impossible to replace someone of Peppers' caliber, and if he doesn't want to be in Carolina it wont do anything but hurt the team. I think the most logical thing to do would is to try to get a high first round draft pick and select Brian Orakpo or Everette Brown, but we will have to wait and see what happens.
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