2018 NFL Mock Draft: Carolina Panthers Select WR D.J. Moore at No. 24

With the 24th pick of the 2018 DBN Community NFL Mock Draft, the Carolina Panthers select...

D.J. Moore, WR, Maryland

The selection and write-up were made by mrwhitman:

The Carolina Panthers have a new/old General Manager in Marty Hurney, who ran the team from 2002-2012. In that time, he drafted Julius Peppers, Cam Newton, Josh Norman and Luke Kuechly to just name a few. Coming back to the Panthers as interim last year after the oddly timed Dave Gettleman firing and now being named full time GM, Hurney wasted no time in reshaping the Panthers into his new/old vision--fast, speedy and athletic on both sides of the ball. Letting former first rounder, DT Star Lotulelei go in free agency, trading Kelvin Benjamin last year for picks and signing Torrey Smith in free agency were the initial salvos in reshaping the Panthers.

The Panthers are still in need of some important pieces and can go multiple ways in this draft including trading down. Although, Hurney has traded down before, the Panthers need impact players. They have a large wide receiver corps of JAGs and Torrey Smith, while former Ohio State wide receiver, Curtis Samuel, is attempting to come back from a late season ankle injury. Devin Funchess, a TE/WR from TTUN, is a big tall drink of meh who some consider being the de facto number 1 receiver but really is not. They did also pick up Jarius Wright as well. The Panthers also have 33-year old Greg Olsen returning for a contract year after missing nine games last season with a broken foot.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Panthers are also lacking some vital impact players. The aforementioned, Star Lotulelei left in free agency. CB Bashaud Breeland failed his physical after coming over from Washington with a non-football injury and the Panthers voided the trade. The team still has not recovered from losing Josh Norman two seasons ago to Washington. On the line, veteran Charles Johnson was released after 11 years with the Panthers. Julius Peppers is not getting any younger but bringing in an understudy edge rusher could pay dividends in the coming seasons.

The question is what type of impact player will Hurney version 2.0 take when the Panthers are on the clock at #24? The Panthers select WR, DJ Moore from the University of Maryland.

The former Terp, Moore is a 6 foot, 210 lbs who tested through the roof while at the NFL Combine. He was top 5 performer in nearly every workout he performed in. He ran a 4.42, 40-yard dash, good for 5^th among wide receivers. He also had the best broad jump of all wide outs at 132 inches. Moore was the 2017 Big Ten Receiver of the Year and First Team All-Conference setting school receptions during his final year with 80 grabs over 12 games for 1033 yards and 8 TDs. He had a walloping 210 yards receiving with 12 receptions and 2 scores against Northwestern.

Many mock drafts have picked Moore or Ridley to the Panthers but Calvin Ridley was selected by the team in Baltimore, at #16. CB was a serious contender for this pick. Jaire Alexander from Louisville almost tipped the scales and he is a Charlotte native to boot. I just think that Moore gives the Panthers best player, Cam Newton, a playmaker for the future. Another sign that Hurney will select Moore on Thursday will be the close ties Hurney has close ties to Maryland. Hurney is a hometown boy, growing up in nearby Wheaton while attending college at Catholic University in D.C.

Pokorny: “As good as the Panthers’ offense should be, they’ve been a tad underwhelming the past couple of years. I’m in favor of them adding more weapons to try to give Cam Newton a top receiver he can count on.”

The Tennessee Titans are up next, led by troy145.