Carolina Panthers: 2010 NFL Draft do-over (6 rounds)

Carolina Panthers 2010 Draft: Junior Galette over Tony Pike (No. 204)

The Panthers selected two quarterbacks in this draft. They took Jimmy Clausen in the second round and they took Tony Pike in the sixth.

Neither did much for the team while they were there. And in Pike’s case, he never started a single game for the Panthers.

Carolina decided to select another signal-caller when they could have selected a pass rusher who wound up having some very good seasons. Junior Galette went undrafted and was signed by the New Orleans Saints. He didn’t play his rookie year but he produced from then on.

Over his next four seasons with the Saints, he had 31.5 sacks, 33 tackles for loss, and five forced fumbles. Galette never made a Pro Bowl. But finding that kind of production out of an undrafted free agent is very rare.

He didn’t put up the same numbers as he did with the Saints during his time with the Washington Redskins, but he was still productive. He recorded three sacks and one forced fumble as a backup edge rusher.

If the Panthers would have selected Galette, pairing him with Charles Johnson in this situation is a mouthwatering prospect. The player more than exceeded expectations after ending up on the undrafted free-agent scrapheap. And he can look back on his career with an enormous sense of pride.