Mel Kiper has done what he calls his “Grade A” mock drafts in previous years. This time, it’s Todd McShay’s turn to do one. In this version of the mock draft, McShay plays general manager for each team for three full rounds. When it comes to the Carolina Panthers and their selections, McShay makes some questionable calls.

McShay grabbed Texas A&M offensive tackle Germain Ifedi in the first round, while looking to defensive tackle Austin Johnson in the second and safety Justin Simmons in the third. Each position is one of need, but it goes down the list of seeming importance rather than best value at each spot, which isn’t how the Panthers do things.

Take Ifedi in the first round for instance. Even though the Panthers could really use him to upgrade their offensive tackles quickly, they didn’t do so through free agency, even though they had the cap room to get proven talent. I think Ifedi is a second-round prospect all day long unless a team like the Panthers want to reach for him. With a ton of upside, Ifedi has little shot at making an immediate impact for the team, though he could develop into a starter in a couple of years. I could easily see the Panthers trading up in the second round for him if he lasts until the middle of the round, mainly due to his experience with mobile quarterbacks during Johnny Manziel’s time at Texas A&M.

Even though offensive tackle is the expected biggest need for the Panthers, there is more value at other positions that the team could use just as badly. Look at pass rusher or safety and you’ll see that guys like Clemson’s defensive end Kevin Dodd is still on the board when the Panthers make their first selection. The same goes for safety Vonn Bell from Ohio State. If the Panthers wanted to add significant depth to their secondary, cornerbacks Mackensie Alexander and Eli Apple are both still there to pick.

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It’s not necessarily McShay’s fault either as the Panthers have been quiet this offseason when it comes to their interests, leaving speculation as to their future actions. However, the big reason that I think the Panthers go in a different direction early is simply because that is general manager Dave Gettleman’s nature.

Gettleman has made some off the wall selections that didn’t seem to line up with what the team needed at that exact moment. In the 2015 NFL Draft, the Panthers took linebacker Shaq Thompson in the first round, despite having one of the best linebacker corps in the league. It wasn’t a need by any means, but Thompson was likely their best player available regardless.

There are a few positions you can likely ignore when doing a mock draft for the Panthers in the first round, like quarterback, but outside of that, it truly becomes the best player on the board at the time they pick more than anything based around need. For that reason, I’m not sold on McShay’s Grade A draft here and wouldn’t take it as gospel.