The link for the video of the interview and story can be found here on NFL.com.

I saw it earlier this morning, live. Most Panthers fans know the offense has a good but aging #1 wide receiver, 33 year old Steve Smith, and a bushel-basket full of #3 types. Steve Wyche of NFL.com knows this too, and asked him about the fastest receiver in the NFL, the Steelers’ Mike Wallace.

“You’re warm,” Rivera replied, “but you know, what’s going to be interesting is how things unfold once we get to March 12.” He was referencing the official start to the free agent season.

Rivera probably also knows the Miami Dolphins are showing great interest in the young man, and that they have a lot more salary cap room to get him, but didn’t express it. The NFL rumor mill says the Dolphins may already either have a deal or are close to one with the speedster, but the same question could have been posed about Green Bay’s UFA WR, Greg Jennings, and would probably have elicited a similar response.

December 23, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace (17) runs after a pass reception as Cincinnati Bengals outside linebacker Manny Lawson (left) defends during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Cincinnati Bengals won 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Dwayne Bowe is another, but I think the Kansas City Chiefs may slap the “franchise” tag on him to help their offense-in-flux be stable. The more I think about it, the less I see KC taking West Virginia QB Geno Smith. I think they’ll re-sign LT Brandon Albert and go after a steady QB…Alex Smith in particular. With Albert protecting his blind side and Bowe a dynamic weapon along with some of the other young skill position players they have (like Dexter McCluster and TE Tony Moeaki), it would open up their #1 pick overall for whomever they have rated the highest on their board, other than interior offensive linemen.

The Panthers’ salary cap woes are well-known as are their offensive line woes and lack of explosive talent at the WR position.

Because of their cap situation along with DeAngelo Williams’ trade value being rather low due to injuries early in the 2012 season, the Panthers may be shackled with 3 expensive running backs in the 2013 season after signing massive FB Mike Tolbert last offseason.

There are also a lot of players in this year’s draft crop that are so close in talent level in some areas, the Panthers could get just about the same level of help drafting 14th or 32nd in the first round….so long as they’re hunting for someone to help their front-seven in general and a defensive tackle specifically.

It also means the Panthers are unlikely to find a suitor to trade down unless there’s a guy like safety Kenny Vaccaro around and another team wants to trade up and get him. Therefore, the Panthers may well be looking to draft a WR at 14 overall if either Cordarrelle Patterson or Keenan Allen is available, then wait for the second round to get a defensive tackle to help fill that problem area in a draft replete with good talent on the defensive line.

University of Alabama running back Eddie Lacy will miss the combine because of a minor tear in tissue around his hamstring, forcing him to put all his chips on the table at the team’s pro day on March 13th. It’s unclear exactly how he sustained the injury and nobody appears to be too worried about it, but tissue tears can linger due to the nature of the injury.

USC’s quarterback Matt Barkley will attend the combine, but won’t be doing any throwing drills. He is still recovering from an shoulder sprain and wasn’t even cleared by his doctors to start throwing until last week. He has some work to do so that he can get it back up to full strength again and says he will be ready for USC’s pro day on March 17th.

Barkley had gotten injured in November and barely avoided surgery. Lacy has a history of lingering injuries in his career at Alabama so this most recent “minor” setback can’t help things there.

I’ll keep my ear to the railroad with their conditions, monitor the pro days as they occur, and relay the relevant information right here on Catcrave.com. That way, my readers won’t have to sort through the clutter at the gazillions of sites that report on everything from the NBA down to women’s rowing.

No offense to the women’s rowers, but Panthers’ fans may be more interested in a defensive tackle or wide receiver that might make a splash somewhere with their 40-time or bench reps. Some are just more interested in the draft process these days and want to hear about that. I’m one of those guys.

Dec 31, 2012; El Paso, TX, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley (middle) speaks to head coach Lane Kiffin before the Sun Bowl against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Sun Bowl stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre-USA TODAY Sports

Will missing the NFL combine hurt either player? Yes, in a way. It puts that much more pressure on them at their respective pro days to perform. A number of times in the past, a player has had a little slower 40-time in particular and improved that time at their pro day.

Cam Newton threw just horribly at the combine but threw well at his pro day at Auburn and the rest is history. What if Eddie Lacy’s “minor tear” lingers just long enough to make him run a slower 40 than a healthy Montee Ball? It could kick him out of the first round quite possibly.

Guys like Montee that have the combine can go through that combine and “stand on their times” as it’s put, foregoing doing any running at their pro days. Sometimes a player doesn’t run so well at the combine but improves upon it with a good showing at his pro day.

Same thing with the passing drills with a particularly good combine performance. However, sometimes a QB will do drills at both even with a good combine if they want to show off a particular skill they have. The QB and his coaches have a lot more control on a team’s pro day since the school is running the show and not the NFL.

A good collegiate coaching staff (oh, like say, Nick Saban and his crew) knows all about it and does all it can to help their exiting players shine, but only as far as the participant is as healthy as possible.

Participating in the combine gives them options.

Ultimately, both Matt Barkley and Eddie Lacy have a lot of history and game tape on them – not to mention Montee Ball with all of his carries up in Wisconsin, for example – so that missing the combine shouldn’t really hurt their stock in the upcoming NFL draft if they come back with a decent pro day.

Miss the combine and have a poor pro day and THEN we’ll have us a big story, folks. It could wind up that Lacy falls out of the first round and Barkley vaults into it, probably due to the effect of positional value at this point than anything, but Lacy’s the more vulnerable of the two.

Stay tuned.

Follow me on Twitter @Ken_Dye

Sep 3, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; Oregon Ducks running back LaMichael James (21) is tackled by LSU Tigers defensive tackle Michael Brockers (90) at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

We’ve now had a full week to digest what has occured at the NFL Combine. Some players helped themselves, some hurt themselves, but most didn’t change their stock much one way or the other.

At first glance, LSU DT Michael Brockers would seem to be one of those who hurt himself. He ran a 5.38-40, very slow for any position player at this level, and only could muster 19 reps for a 322 lb. man. That’s 225 lbs he’s pushing. That would be equivalent to me bench-pressing 140 lbs 19 times. I don’t even work out, I have an arthritic shoulder and can do at least a few reps and I’m 45 years old! But Brockers is entering the NFL as a redshirt Sophomore so everyone knows he’s raw and he’s probably best as a 4-3 DT. There’s little more than a season of college game tape on him, and that generally raises red flags.

But, Oh, what that game tape shows! Brockers has tremendous leg strength and, despite his poor combine showing overall, is a good athlete. He also has long 35″ arms, a huge frame, and almost no body fat. Combine that with his youth, and it’s likely he simply hasn’t fully developed his potential yet. In college, he dominated in every game, anchoring that stifling LSU defense in the middle. When you take all this into account, it’s easy to see why a lot of teams still like the kid. He has been up and down the boards like an elevator on a busy day, being projected anywhere from in the low-20s all the way up to 6 or 7. He even fell out of the first round, albeit briefly, on a few teams’ big boards I’d be willing to bet.

Now that a little time has passed, I can see how a guy like Brockers might be attractive to a team like the Panthers needing to build a defense. While there are 4 or 5 good DT prospects that could go in the first round, I’m not sure any of them have as much upside as does Michael Brockers. It’s also unlikely that he will dominate at the NFL level from day one, but the day he can may not be all that far off.

The SEC has become the NCAA’s version of a dynasty in football, and that is where the best players compete. Brockers excelled there and shut down Alabama’s running game in their initial meeting during the regular season last year. He also played well in the BCS title rematch game, if not dominant there. Chalk that up to Coach Saban’s scheming. Now, he’ll be going up against grown men who have been blocking guys his size for 8 or 10 years and know all the techniques to use. Brockers is going to have to be well-coached in a lot of the nuances of playing the position if he’s going to grow into a great NFL defensive tackle.

In the end, it all depends on him. He seems to love the game, but he can’t rely on overpowering NFL offensive lineman just because he’s big and has strong legs. That’s fine, because that same game tape shows he has outstanding instincts as to what type of play the offense is running…draws, reverses, screens…he doesn’t get fooled by the shenanigans very often.

After having briefly fallen to the low-first round or even beyond, I think more teams are realizing this kid is for real, and he has the chance to develop into something very special over the next couple of years once he finishes filling out and gets on an NFL weight training program. He has the desire to succeed and he has the intelligence to diagnose plays so he’ll play faster than the 5.4-40 time he displayed. If he’d clocked Rich Eisen’s 6.04, chances are he really would be a middle-round pick. But he didn’t, so he won’t. If he can improve just a little bit on his Pro Day, it’ll help cement his status as a top-15 talent.
As of today, I see him being anywhere from the first to the third DT taken, depending on what the particular franchise wants for their scheme or sees in this kid. I think the Panthers are looking hard at both him and Poe while looking ahead to Free Agency. Michael Brockers has finally risen up my own draft board and shown me he’s another example of the Combine not really changing things much if you’ve got good game tape.

Same thing with Kendall Wright; he was figured to be a late first-rounder and that’s probably where he’ll wind up. I don’t see him getting by San Fran at 30. As for Brockers, the Broncos would love him at 25, but now I don’t think he’ll fall that far. The Panthers would be well-served to take him, with the likely scenario of a learning curve initially but a higher ceiling later. He should make strides once he bulks up his upper body and settles into an NFL training camp to get into NFL-football shape. That factor plays into the Panther’s hands a little bit since Rivera is rebuilding from the rubble defense he inherited and can afford to give a kid a year to get things down there as opposed to a playoff team that’s looking for a rookie to step in and be an instant force. That would play more into Dontari Poe’s hands as he’s a more polished player. There’s Fletcher Cox to consider as well as there are several young men that can play NT in a 3-4 or DT in a 4-3 in this year’s draft. It’s a deep draft for linemen and scarce on top 3-4 pass rushers and corners (beyond Claiborne).

My sense is that the Panthers want a pass-rusher if they can get a really good one at 9. I think Ingram is above Coples on their board, as Ingram’s most natural fit is as a 4-3 DE, but should be able to transit to a 3-4 OLB if asked. However, the Jags may like him at #7. I’d as soon the Panthers take Brockers or Poe over Quentin Coples because I’ve seen too many just take money and lie down like Vernon Gholston did. The rookie wage scale should help keep that to a minimum now, and clubs won’t lose 30+ million in guaranteed money on a player who just looks for a payday without ever playing a down in the NFL, but the character/motor issues around Coples would be enough to scare me off from choosing him in the top 10. Teams in the top 10 in the draft especially can’t afford to whiff their first-round pick, and Brockers is likely as safe a choice as most and way safer a pick than Coples. If Coples and Ingram are both gone at 9, Brockers could make an immediate impact for them at the 3-technique and should only get better with a coach who played on probably the best defense the NFL has ever seen – the 1985 Chicago Bears.