Sir Purr
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
- 1,969
- 0
NEW EXPERIENCE
Fitterer doesn't have much experience with a draft pick as high as he'll be using this year (eighth overall).
But from a philosophical standpoint, he's interested in adding more draft picks rather than subtracting them, the way they did in Seattle.
The Seahawks haven't picked higher than 15th since 2012, when they took pass-rusher Bruce Irvin.
"In Seattle, we've historically picked in the mid-20s to late-20s for the last 10 years," Fitterer said. "When you look at the draft and build the board, there's a certain level of player that stops about 16 or 17 or 18. So, once we're picking at 25, and we know we're not going to get those players we consider are going to come in and be impact players, we don't see a big difference between 25 and 40 at that point. So we can move back, acquire picks, and still get the same caliber of player that fits our team.
"This year, it's going to be a little bit different. Picking eighth this year, we're in that mix of players. That gives us the opportunity. We can move up, we can move back, it gives us a lot of flexibility in the draft. It'll be a new adventure, and one I'm looking forward to. But if you're not in that top part of the draft, we're going to try to acquire picks."
The Panthers saw the benefit of having extra draft capital last year, which Fitterer had a ringside seat for.
They used the fifth-round pick they acquired from Washington in the Kyle Allen trade as part of the trade up to get linebacker Jeremy Chinn.
The Panthers traded their third-rounder and that fifth (69th and 148th overall) to move up to 64.
That pick was owned by the Seahawks, who parlayed those two picks into guard Damien Lewis and defensive end Alton Robinson.