Carolina Panthers: 2006 NFL Draft do-over (7 rounds)

Carolina Panthers 2006 Draft: Donald Penn over Stanley McClover (No. 237)

Finding a great player with one of the last picks in the draft is a thankless task. One could argue that there is a better chance of an undrafted free agent making a success of their career. And this was the case with Donald Penn.

The former Utah State product went undrafted and subsequently signed with the Minnesota Vikings. But he was cut soon after and moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He became the starting tackle for the Buccaneers over a prolonged period of time. Penn started every game from 20008-16 and made two Pro Bowls for Tampa Bay and the Oakland Raiders.

If the Carolina Panthers would have taken Penn here he could have been the franchise tackle to play opposite of Jordan Gross. This had the potential to give the organization to bookend pieces to protect players under center, most notably their No. 1 overall pick in 2011, Cam Newton.

Penn was a great athlete and has caught five touchdowns in his career. When your starting tackle can go and run routes and catch touchdowns, a team has something truly special.

If the Panthers would have had this draft class, history would be very different. That’s the exciting thing about the draft, you don’t know what pick was right until years later.