Hilee Taylor to the Panthers

As I wrote in a short review blog, Hilee Taylor was one of the players from North Carolina that might have a shot at hearing his name during the National Football League draft. Well, it took a while, a bit longer than his team mate Kentwan Balmer (who went #29), but Taylor also heard his name. With the 221^st pick the Carolina Panthers took the defensive end. Before I go on, let me just say that I will eat crow on this one, since I said in my blog that he would not be selected at the draft.

The key for Taylor is will he be used as a defensive end, like he played at UNC, or will the Carolina Panthers switch him to outside linebacker due to his small size? I think that will be the determining factor on how well Taylor does at the next level. Will he be able to use his athletic qualities and burst off the snap better as a DE or a OLB? Or will the lack of size and great speed be a problem at either of those positions?

I think it will be truly interesting to follow Taylor's path through the mini camps and then on to pre-season camp, to see where he is playing and how much he develops at the position. Am I certain that he will make the roster? As of right now, no, because I think it all hinges on where he is placed on the field and how much time he is given to develop. I think that if he stays as a defensive end the time he has to impress the coaching staff will be a lot shorter. If he is moved to linebacker I have to believe he will be considered a work in progress and be given at least a year to mold into it.