Carolina Panthers: 2009 NFL Draft do-over (6 Rounds)

Carolina Panthers 2009 Draft: Mike Wallace over Sherrod Martin (No. 59)

The Carolina Panthers desperately needed help in the secondary, so that is the direction they went with this pick. They took promising corner Sherrod Martin out of Troy No. 59 overall. But things tailed off rapidly after a promising first year as a professional.

Martin actually played well during his rookie season. He only started five games but wound up with three interceptions, one forced fumble, and 22 total tackles.

His next two campaigns were even better. Martin started all but one game and had four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and 153 tackles during this period.

Unfortunately, his career fell off after that. He only started two games over the next three seasons and was out of the league after in 2015 following a spell with Chicago Bears.

Even though the Panthers needed secondary players, they could have solved that later in the draft. The player Carolina should have taken was the speedster out of Mississippi, Mike Wallace.

Wallace was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 84th pick. His rookie year wasn’t amazing because he was playing behind Hall of Famers like Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes.

The player took off in his second year. He started all 16 games and caught 60 passes for 1,257 yards and ten touchdowns. And this was followed by more of the same in 2011 on his way to a Pro Bowl appearance.

This was followed by spells with the Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, and the Baltimore Ravens. And Wallace performed well for each team.

If the Panthers had opted to select Wallace instead of Martin they would have had an elite blend of skill and speed at the receiver position with Steve Smith.