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Teams simply cannot afford to mess up their first-round picks year after year – or any year, really, for that matter.

That’s what makes the list of first-round selections the Panthers have made since 2001 so impressive. It

could easily be successfully argued that they haven’t whiffed on their last 14 top picks in the opening

round (taking into account that twice, in 2009 and 2010, they traded their first-rounder; and

that they did miss on a second first-rounder in 2008, when their top selection was

running back Jonathan Stewart with the 13th overall pick but they also took

underachieving offensive lineman Jeff Otah at No. 19).

If it’s true that draft choices are the lifeblood of all NFL organizations, then first-round picks are the main artery through which it all flows.

THE LISTPANTHERS PAST DRAFT

SUCCESS IN THE FIRST ROUND

Cam Newton, 2011

BY JOE MENZER

PANTHERS FIRST ROUND SUCCESS

CAROLINA PANTHERS / 18.6 / 17

PANTHERS FIRST ROUND SUCCESSIt’s so impressive that it deserves to be called “The List,” and here it is:

2001 – Dan Morgan (No. 11 overall)2002 – Julius Peppers (No. 2)2003 – Jordan Gross (No. 8)2004 – Chris Gamble (No. 28)2005 – Thomas Davis (No. 14)2006 – DeAngelo Williams (No. 27)2007 – Jon Beason (No. 25)2008 – Stewart (No. 13) and Otah (No. 19)2011 – Cam Newton (No. 1)2012 – Luke Kuechly (No. 9)2013 – Star Lotulelei (No. 14)2014 – Kelvin Benjamin (No. 28)2015 – Shaq Thompson (No. 25)2016 – Vernon Butler (No. 30)

That group includes players who have piled up a total of 23 combined Pro Bowl appearances as Panthers. Nine of the first 10 players on it have accounted for all of those to date, so in the stretch from 2001 to 2012, the only Panthers’ top pick who failed to be named to the Pro Bowl was Gamble – a cornerback who ended his career in 2012 as the team’s all-time leader in interceptions with 27 and arguably got wrongfully snubbed more than once, most notably in 2011.

List NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock among those impressed with The List.

“First of all, I think it’s very unusual,” Mayock said of the Panthers’ prolonged first-round success. “And what I like about The List is, regardless of where they were picking in the particular drafts – whether it was Julius Peppers early or Jon Beason late in the first round – they continually hit on quality players. From my perspective, what I think it shows more than anything is a consistent organizational philosophy. That’s the biggest difference between teams that draft well over the long haul, and the teams that don’t.”

“With the Panthers – whether it was Marty Hurney or Dave Gettleman (as general manager) – there is a consistent philosophy in place. There were a couple of years in there when they traded down out of the first round. So again, if they don’t like what they see, they’re not reaching. And I think that’s really the key.”

Brandon Beane, the Panthers’ assistant general

manager, said none of that is by accident.

He said the team philosophy starts with owner Jerry Richardson’s long-held commitment to drafting players in the first round who have extraordinary football skills but also are of high character off the field. That simple mandate has served the team well over the years.

“It starts at the top with Mr. Richardson,” Beane said. “We take guys with first-round talent. But if they don’t match the character we’re looking for, we take those guys off the board. You cannot miss on those guys. You want them to be smart, tough, plus great guys on the field and off the field.”

Missing on even the occasional first-round pick can have a devastating effect on a team for years down the road, according to Mayock. But again, the fact that the Panthers have avoided such catastrophes is no accident, the draft expert added.

“If you look at the teams that have struggled, typically what you see is turnover amongst GMs and head coaches,” Mayock said “My job is to be in all 32 buildings – and the thing that strikes me is how often the GM and the coach are NOT on the same page. Or how often you’ve had two

or three head coaches in a five-year period – and there is no way in the world the personnel side can keep up with what the coaches want with that kind of turnover.”

“Coaches want different types of players when they come in, and it’s the general manager’s job to make sure those coaches get the types of players who fit the style of how they want to play.”

Mayock said he frequently uses the AFC North as a comparison when trying to explain this to outsiders.

“You’ve got (long-time general managers) Ozzie Newsome in Baltimore and Kevin Colbert in Pittsburgh. They know what a Raven and a Steeler look like and smell like,” Mayock said. “If you compare that to Cleveland right there in that division, where the Browns have had all that turnover, they have no shot at developing any kind of consistency. “

“And I think you can throw Carolina into that group as far as, hey, Hurney, Gettleman…it doesn’t matter. They as an organization know what a Panther looks like and smells like, and they make very few mistakes – especially at the top end of the draft – because of that.”

Julius Peppers, 2002PANTHERS FIRST ROUND SUCCESS

CAROLINA PANTHERS / 18.6 / 19

PANTHERS FIRST ROUND SUCCESS

Mayock also credited Richardson with setting the proper tone at the very top of the organization.

“I think without the right ownership, you’ve got no shot,” Mayock said. “And I think the best owners are the ones who hire the right guys, put trust in them, and let them do their jobs. I think the consistent philosophy from the top down in Carolina makes a huge difference.”

Beane is entering his 19th season with the Panthers and served as the team’s interim GM after Hurney got fired six games into the 2012 season to end a 10-year run as GM. Beane said that even though the Panthers have had some coaching changes since 2001 – and Gettleman was named the current GM prior to 2013 – the core of the organization has mostly remained the same.

Many of the scouts have been with the club for a decade or longer, for instance.

“It speaks to the continuity of our scouting staff, and even though we’ve had some different people and a couple of leadership changes, it’s a stable organization with the same philosophies,” Beane said. “Your first-round pick sets up your draft. That guy is looked at by the other guys in that draft, by his peers, as the leader of that class. So you can’t miss

on that.”

“And the value of those first-rounders, those are the cream of the crop. You have to hit on those if you’re going to win in this league. You have to draft well, and if you’re missing on first-rounders, you’re in trouble. Those are your best players, the guys you want to turn into 10-year starters, Pro Bowl players, etc., etc. It’s harder to get those types of players the further you go in the draft.”

Mayock seems most impressed with the Panthers’ first-round selection of Kuechly in 2012, although he also pointed out what a coup Beason was with the 25th pick in 2007 because the Panthers actually traded back in the first round and scooped up not only Beason but also added an additional draft pick in the process.

“With Kuechly, he was the No. 9 pick. A lot of teams don’t like to take inside linebackers with a high pick,” Mayock said. “And again, they looked at Luke Kuechly and said, ‘That’s just a great football player. It doesn’t matter what his position is. He’s a great football player.’”

“I think especially in the first round, teams have to be careful about reaching for guys from a position perspective, and taking too many chances with guys that have a history

of injuries, or a history of work-ethic issues. And again, I think the Panthers kind of stay in their lane. They find guys who love football, care about football, and also are outstanding collegiate football players.”

Beane does not hesitate to point out the selection of Thomas Davis with the 14th overall selection in 2005 as his favorite Panther pick of all time. Davis has overcome three ACL knee injuries and continues to play at a high level as he prepares to enter his 13th NFL season – but when he was coming out of Georgia in 2005, there were plenty of so-called experts who wondered if he would even be able to play linebacker in the NFL. Some thought he was destined to play safety instead.

“It’s hard not to say Thomas is the first guy you think of in terms of everything that Mr. Richardson puts on our plates when it comes to the kind of player we want to draft,” Beane said. “I don’t think there’s a box he hasn’t checked. And if you go back in his career and think about what he’s overcome, the mental toughness that Thomas has to overcome three ACL surgeries – to be the first guy in this league to do that – it’s amazing. He’s a warrior.

“And the other guys look up to a guy like that. It starts when he’s a first-round pick. But then when you’ve got a thirty-something guy who has been playing since 2005 and gone through all that and he’s not taking a day off, how can someone who joined the team even four or five years ago ever think about taking a day off? What a leader by example, and he’s developed into a vocal leader as well. We’ve gotten way more than we ever deserved out of Thomas Davis.”

Beane stressed that a huge tip of the cap must go to the team’s scouting staff for the continued first-round successes through the years.

“It all starts with them, but not every team includes all the scouts when you get into the draft-day process,” Beane said. “We believe in teamwork, harmony – all those things Mr. Richardson talks about. And everybody’s voice matters. Obviously different voices carry different weights, but we give everybody input – and I think that gives them buy-in. That’s going to make a guy work harder, because he knows that when he’s out at some school scouting in the middle of winter. He’s going to think to himself, ‘My voice matters and I cannot screw this up.’”

“It’s not that way in every program. We just really believe this is the way to do it.”

Kelvin Benjamin, 2014