p at defensive end through the draft Adult DJ Moore Jersey , they had better pick well - and early."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Keep Sounding PodcastPanthers 2019 NFL DraftCSR Film RoomWhat are the odds the Panthers land a late-round sleeper at defensive end? New,18commentsIf the Panthers are going to address the gap at defensive end through the draft, they had better pick well - and early. ESTShareTweetShareShareWhat are the odds the Panthers land a late-round sleeper at defensive end? Bob Donnan-USA TODAY SportsAddressing the defensive end position needs to be a priority in the 2019 draft. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Carolina invest a first or second round pick at the position. But since the Panthers still have their picks in Rounds 4 through 6 (they traded Round 7 in the 2017 Kevon Seymour deal) I wanted to explore how likely it would be for Carolina to land a solid defensive end in the later rounds. You know, finding a “sleeper”, a term almost all of us have used before with either late Panthers picks in years past or during our own fantasy drafts. But how likely is it that the Panthers can actually land a solid defensive end in the late rounds? One way to assess this is to simply look at the draft position of today’s “good” defensive ends. For “good” defensive ends I used Football Reference’s Approximate Value (AV) from 2018 and found a natural cutoff point at an AV of five or higher. I then cross-referenced AV with free, public data from Pro Football Focus and feel comfortable that while this list isn’t perfect, it’s at least directionally correct (full spreadsheet here). Here are the draft positions of the Top 32 defensive ends in 2018 as rated by AV:Not surprisingly Limited Donte Jackson Jersey , 18 of the 32 best defensive ends in 2018 were drafted in the first two rounds, but it did raise my eyebrows a bit to see an even split of nine first rounders and nine second rounders. Only six of the top 32 were drafted between rounds 4 through 7, so the odds aren’t great for the Panthers finding a sleeper. As a frame of reference, the six solid defensive ends drafted in the later rounds are Everson Griffen (4th), Alex Okafor (4th), Brent Urban (4th), D.J. Reader (5th) Elite Donte Jackson Jersey , Darius Philon (6th), and Stephen Weatherly (7th). Now, let’s look at the “hit rate” of late-round picks at defensive end. While this is an arbitrary number on my part, a solid NFL career can last eight years if not longer. Based on data from Football Reference a total of 92 defensive ends were drafted in Round 4 or later between 2011 and 2018. In all, of the 92 defensive ends drafted between Round 4 and 7 over the last eight years only six are among the NFL’s Top 32, putting the hit rate at just 6.5 percent (six of 92). Another interesting observation is four undrafted free agents are among the NFL’s better defensive ends. This includes our very own Mario Addison, Romeo Okwara Game Donte Jackson Jersey , Michael Bennett, and Cameron Wake. However, every year upwards of 500 UDFAs get signed every year, so good luck if that’s your path forward. If history continues to repeat itself the Panthers aren’t going to find a quality starter in the back half of the draft, though I would be delighted if they proved me wrong. This isn’t a shocking conclusion in and of itself, but it really illustrates just how rare it is to find true quality at defensive end in Round 4 or later. If anyone is holding out hope for a late-round defensive end sleeper, it’s probably time to wake up and smell the data. The Carolina Panthers have selected Will Grier at No. 100 overall."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Keep Sounding PodcastPanthers 2019 NFL DraftCSR Film RoomPanthers 2019 NFL DraftCarolina Panthers select Will Grier with the No. 100 overall pick in the 2019 NFL DraftNew Donte Jackson Womens Jersey ,410commentsThe Carolina Panthers have selected Will Grier at No. 100 overall.EDTShareTweetShareShareCarolina Panthers select Will Grier with the No. 100 overall pick in the 2019 NFL DraftBrian Spurlock-USA TODAY SportsThe Carolina Panthers have selected Will Grier out of West Virginia with the No. 100 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.Backup quarterback is a glaring need for the Carolina Panthers, but perhaps not the most glaring one they still had. Regardless of that fact, we know the Panthers liked this guy and it was a pretty good bet that when he was still sitting there near the end of the third round, that they would go out and get him.Grier is a very talented quarterback, and I’m sure it helped his cause that he’s a native Charlottean. With Cam Newton’s health in question, it makes a lot of sense to get him a young developmental backup, especially when he lasted twice as long as you thought he would.So what do you think of the pick Panthers fans? I expect a really large spread of grades to come in regarding this pick Youth Donte Jackson Jersey , especially with the other needs that still need filling.