Carolina Panthers Mock Draft: Updated Day 3 Predictions

The Carolina Panthers left Day 2 of the 2015 NFL draft with significantly less flexibility than when they entered.

Before the second round was even an hour old, the Panthers traded their third- and sixth-round picks to move up 16 selections in the second round to take Michigan wide receiver/tight end Devin Funchess.  There’s nothing wrong with the selection of Funchess, whom I actually had higher on my board than Dorial Green-Beckham, who went one pick earlier to the Tennessee Titans.

While Funchess makes sense for the team, that’s a lot of value to give up for one player.  It means there will be no starting offensive tackle drafted this year, leaving the right tackle open to some combination of last year’s starter, Nate Chandler, ex-practice squad surprise Mike Remmers and free-agent acquisition Jonathan Martin.  By getting out of the third round, the Panthers missed out on the chance to draft Chaz Green and likely a few tackles who will go at the beginning of Round 4.

What’s done is done, however.  The Panthers have their two probable contributors for 2015 in Shaq Thompson and Funchess and will go into Day 3 looking to fill their remaining needs.

Day 3 contributors aren’t going to come in and be starters, generally speaking, but the Panthers have bucked that trend in recent years.  Last year saw Tre Boston and Bene Benwikere join the team and play very well in the defensive secondary, while A.J. Klein was a fifth-round pick the day before.  While the odds are against the Panthers finding similar contributors again this year, Dave Gettleman and his staff have done a great job recently finding useful players late.

Who might those players be this year?  Let’s take a look and do one last mock of Carolina’s five remaining picks.

Round 4, Pick 124: Javorius “Buck” Allen, RB, USC

While there are still some potential offensive tackles on the board here, including Oklahoma’s Tyrus Thompson, there’s no one to wrest the starting right tackle position away anymore.  A more valuable player would be a replacement for the departed DeAngelo Williams, and that’s where Buck Allen comes in.

Back in March, Allen worked out with the Panthers, according to Joe Garcia of NFL Trade Rumors, and the fit makes sense.  Allen can handle anything you ask of him at least moderately well.  He’s powerful enough to take a bit of a pounding, at 6’0” and 221 pounds, but I’m more impressed with his ability in space.  His cuts are smooth, quick and decisive, and his burst is enough to squeeze through a gap before it closes.  He’s not going to be the most elusive back in the known world, but he has enough acceleration to make some yards out of nothing.

I’m also a fan of his receiving game.  He averaged 11.3 yards per reception over the last two seasons, and that’s not a small-sample-size fluke.  He had 41 receptions in 2014, part of a workload that included a total of 317 touches.  He can carry a workload, in other words.

He fits well in Carolina, who will allow him to find holes and be patient.  There’s nothing that he does that absolutely blows you away, but he does everything at least solidly, making him valuable depth.

The Panthers have tried over the last few years to find a Day 3 running back, taking Tyler Gaffney and Kenjon Barner over the last two seasons.  Hopefully, the third time will be the charm for the Panthers.

Round 5, Pick 161: Clayton Geathers, SS, Central Florida

The Panthers need to replace Roman Harper, who was the weak link on the defense last season.  A fifth-round pick is unlikely to come in and start from day one, especially one with somewhat deficient man coverage skills, but I’m a fan of Clayton Geathers, a four-year starter at Central Florida.

If you’re looking for an enforcing hard hitter, you could do much worse than taking Geathers.  He racked up 298 tackles in the last three seasons at UCF, and he flies into them, blowing people up. At 6’2”, 218 pounds, Geathers is a very large and physical player and loves picking through blockers and going for the knockout blow.

He’s not just a hitter, either.  He’s good at reading and recognizing offensive plays, allowing him to organize and run the defensive secondary.  He has some athleticism, too, putting up a 37-inch vertical jump at the combine.  That, combined with his 32-inch arms, allows him to break up passes when he’s in position.

The issue with Geathers is that, at the moment, he’s very much a run-first defender.  He can get caught out of position as he tries to cheat up and help in the box or bites on play-action fakes.  He’s going to have to live in the box, at least at first.  He is also a hitter, rather than a tackler—his fundamentals could use some work.

He’s an immediate impact player on special teams, and all of his negatives are something that can be coached up.  He’s a good prospect to grab and develop.

Round 5, Pick 169: Jacorey Shepherd, CB, Kansas

Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

With three picks in the fifth round, the Panthers can afford to make a couple best-player-available selections with their compensatory selections.  As the picks are originally for the losses of defensive backs Mike Mitchell and Captain Munnerlyn, why not use them to add more depth in the secondary?

Cornerback Jacorey Shepherd has fallen some in the pre-draft process, as he’s had to nurse a bum hamstring.  He gutted it out and managed a 4.65-second 40-yard dash at his pro day, but he was still only about “70 percent healthy” as of the beginning of April, according to Fox’s Alex Marvez.  That lingering injury has cooled him off, somewhat.

He’s a first-team All Big-12 corner, however, with great ball skills.  According to NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, he had 32 passes defensed and five interceptions over the last two seasons.  That’s some great coverage ability, especially considering he’s only 5’11” and 199 pounds.  Some of that is due to his history as a wide receiver, where he started his college career, so you know his hands are above average for a defender.

He plays fast on tape.  As a kick returner, Shepherd averaged 21.4 yards per return over the last three seasons.  While we don’t know what he would have run if his hamstring were at 100 percent, he certainly seems to have game speed.

He’s not as physical as you’d want an ideal corner to be, and he’s not much of a tackler, but he has enough coverage skills to be worth a pick.

Round 5, Pick 174: Jarvis Harrison, OG, Texas A&M

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

NFL.com listed guard Jarvis Harrison as a potential third- or fourth-round pick.  That would be much too high for me.  Harrison was labeled as a “knucklehead” by multiple scouts, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  He showed up late to his own pro day, which has to raise major red flags when it comes to dedication and work ethic.  That’s too much of a worry to be worth a Day 2 pick.

In the middle of Day 3, however, Harrison is a different story.  Yes, the concerns about work ethic and conditioning still exist, but his talent is undeniable.  He’s got the big frame you’re looking for in a guard at 6’4” and 330 pounds, but he can play tackle in a pinch, having done exactly that at Texas A&M.  His technique is much, much better than you’re expecting in the fifth round, with a very good power punch and the ability to zero in on targets in space.  His footwork is good, too, as shown by his top performance in the three-cone drill at the combine.

As a football player, Harrison is a starting guard.  The question is whether or not he is motivated enough or dedicated enough to put in the work needed to play in the NFL.  It’s a question of how high his talent would take him, and how low his off-field issues would drop him.  This feels just about right to me—the right balance of risk versus reward.

Round 7, Pick 242: DeVante Davis, WR, UNLV

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

For the third day in a row, I’m giving the Panthers DeVante Davis in the seventh round.  Davis is a very promising receiver from UNLV who has nearly the perfect build for the position.  At 6’3” and 220 pounds, Davis would actually become one of the shorter members of Carolina’s receiving corps now, with the addition of Funchess.  If the Panthers are building the tallest receiving corps in the league, Davis is a good addition.

Davis has a lot of experience tracking passes and adjusting mid-route.  This is because his quarterbacks at UNLV were awful by college standards.  Cam Newton isn’t the most accurate passer in the league, but he can get the ball in the same ZIP code as his receivers.  Davis is a lottery ticket, a player you grab because there’s the outside chance that, with competent quarterbacking, he can develop into a deep threat and fourth receiver.

What about offensive tackle?  While that remains the Panthers' biggest need, there’s not really a spot where one seems to be the most valuable pick available.  Someone will drop at some point, presumably, but there’s no way to predict which one. 

The Panthers need to be ready to pounce if a top talent drops down toward them; they no longer have the 2015 capital to make any major moves in the draft.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the Carolina Panthers during the NFL Draft.  Follow him @BryKno on Twitter.