NFC South exit interview 3 good things 3

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NFC South exit interview 3 good things 3

The roster-building portion of the NFL offseason is all but over. Your favorite team's lineup is pretty much set, with the big names in free agency all snatched up and the 2016 NFL Draft in the books. More offseason exit interviews How did your favorite team do addre sing its biggest needs heading into May and June OTAs? We're taking a team-by-team look with offseason exit interviews for each division. We kicked off our look around the league with the NFC East, and then jumped over to the NFC North and AFC South. Next up? The NFC South. Three positives 1. They doubled down on defensive line Utilizing their first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers did something they've often done under Dave Gettleman and drafted a defensive tackle. Gettleman cares not for his depth chart when it comes to the draft and proved it by taking Vernon Butler with Star Lotulelei and Kawaan Short already locking up the middle. Both guys are due big bucks, which makes this a potential play for the future. Butler also has the versatility to play multiple spots on the line. Building on a strength has worked well for Carolina in the past and the feeling here is a double down only helps them further in 2016. 2. Secured a bunch of cornerbacks The Panthers' biggest gaping hole got bigger this offseason (more on Alan Branch Jersey that below), but the front office did its best to fill the space by loading up on cornerbacks in the draft. Gettleman pulled the trigger on three-straight corners in rounds 2, 3 and 5. James Bradberry out of Samford, Daryl Worley out of West Virginia and Zack Sanchez out of Oklahoma are all taller corners with lots of upside (and potential downside as rookies playing a difficult position) who might see some serious action during their first season with the Panthers. 3. They hit the undrafted jackpot The best value for Carolina might have come the draft. The Panthers picked up Jeremy Cash -- a former ACC Defensive Player of the Year out of Duke and a player they see as a modern linebacker -- and Tulsa wideout Keyarris Garrett, who is a similar style player to Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funche s. The Panthers said just didn't have enough picks (only one seventh-round pick and no sixth-round pick).Three negatives 1. They let Josh Norman walk into free agency A trade for Norman wasn't going to happen and there's an argument the Panthers will be better off for the long haul by acquiring a high compensatory pick for Norman and not Luke Wilson Jersey having him around upset about being on a one-year contract. Make no mistake: Dave Gettleman was not paying the cornerback the money he wanted on a lengthy deal. So he was going to leave at some point anyway. But Super Bowl windows tend to be fleeting in the NFL and Carolina's core group on defense is built to help win a title. There is no question Norman being on the roster and playing ball for one full season would make them better. 2. They didn't find Cam Newton more protection Everyone points to the impre sive play of the Panthers' secondary and receiving weapons as the biggest surprises from 2016. But the reality of Carolina's offensive line playing really well should have been the biggest shock -- this is a unit that started with newly signed Michael Oher at left tackle and Mike Remmers on the right side. Carolina's interior protection -- particularly guard Trae Turner and center Ryan Khalil remain underrated -- but Remmers was a major i sue during the Super Bowl. It's po sible they get equal health and protection from the offensive line in 2016, but it's a risky proposition to take. 3. They didn't shore up the running back position Same deal for the running back position. Jonathan Stewart isn't a paradigm of health -- his 13 games in 2015 were considered a healthy season! Newton runs Fitzgerald Toussaint Jersey the ball plenty, but there's just not much depth behind Stewart, with Cameron Artis-Payne, Mike Tolbert and Fozzy Whitaker serving as the primary backups. Three positives 1. They got better on the offensive line Protecting Matt Ryan should be paramount for this offense, and the decision to go out and add center Alex Mack qualifies as a quality, aggre sive free agency move. Mack was a stud with Cleveland and could solidify an offensive line with plenty of high-leverage pieces (first-round pick Jake Matthews, trade target Andy Levitre). Re-signing Ryan Schraeder should make this a plus-unit coming into 2016. 2. They did a nice job improving the linebackers Grabbing Courtney Upshaw and Sean Weatherspoon aren't eye-popping moves but they don't cost much and present plenty of upside. 'Spoon is a one-time first-round pick for Atlanta who could offer Thomas Dimitroff some redemption, while Upshaw was signed on a one-year deal. They need help up front and if they hit here it will help a lot. 3. Their pa s rush should be improved Couple the additions at linebacker with the development of Vic Beasley and the addition of Deion Jones (four sacks as an outside linebacker last year) and it should result in Dan Quinn's scheme creating more sack opportunities. Three negatives 1. That's a lot of money for Mohamed Sanu Dipping into the free-agency market for a wide receiver when you need a wide receiver is fine. But skinny-dipping off a cliff into the free-agent market Austin Davis Jersey and giving Mohamed Sanu a five-year, $32.5 million deal is a bit aggre sive. Sanu is a capable wideout and a reasonable option next to Julio Jones, but the Falcons had not options at wideout and overpaid in order to fill a spot with Roddy White's release. It's a thin position behind Jones all of the sudden. 2. They a sume this scheme works Kyle Shanahan's approach to this offense looked smart for the first few games of the 2015 season, but it quickly backfired as Ryan appeared to regre s over the course of the season. His statistics didn't suffer noticeably on the surface (66.3 percent completion, 4,591 yards, 21 touchdowns, 16 interceptions), but he wasn't good for much of the year. Football Outsiders pegs him as a top-10 quarterback from 2012-2014 and , which is exactly what we saw from a quarterback struggling to adjust. Shanahan likes to roll his quarterbacks out and feed the top target -- Ryan just didn't respond during the second half. 3. They reached a bit in the first round If you love Keanu Neal then you take him, but they could've traded down a little bit and nabbed him as well, instead of reaching at No. 17 to get their guy Devin Gardner Jersey . They needed help on the back end of the defense, but there were enough players people were still pining for where they could've moved down and grabbed more picks or even potentially gone in a different direction. Three positives 1. They improved their interior d

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