Carolina Panthers: Gettleman Finds Success in the NFL Draft

The Carolina Panthers have improved in a number of ways under GM Dave Gettleman but one of his biggest successes has been in the NFL Draft.

When Dave Gettleman took over as general manager for the Carolina Panthers, the organization was coming off a three-year stretch where they had only 15 wins.

However, he was able to quickly turn the team around with three trips to the playoffs in four seasons. One of the reasons for the quick turnaround is because of the front office’s success in the NFL Draft.

The Panthers only have two players left out of the 25 selected from the draft classes from 2010 to 2012 (Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly). There was also only four players who made the Pro Bowl (Newton, Kuechly, Greg Hardy and Josh Norman).

Meanwhile in the four draft classes under Gettleman, he had 13 out of 21 draft picks start at least one game this past season.

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In these draft classes, two have already made the Pro Bowl (Kawann Short and Trai Turner). In the Panthers most recent class, rookie James Bradberry is receiving praise as the highest rated rookie cornerback by Pro Football Focus.

More important than getting the picks right, Gettleman doesn’t miss often and when he does it isn’t with a high pick. The Panthers only have five players drafted since 2013 not on the roster and none were taken before the fourth round.

This is going to be an interesting year for Dave Gettleman because it will be the first time he is drafting in the Top 10 and has never had a selection higher than 14. The ability Gettleman has to find quality players in the later part of rounds should give fans confidence that he will find an impact player in the first round this year.

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