It’s Monday again! For today’s Mauk mock draft we are going to do a seven round Carolina Panthers specific mock draft. In this edition we are going to try to predict the actual picks, and while I think a trade will happen, trades are nearly impossible to predict so we will stay away from it. A few things to note about this draft: for the first round pick I used Gettleman’s propensities for possible first round picks which usually includes drafting the first rounder from player whom he has had pre-draft workouts.

For the later rounds I tried to follow what Gettleman usually does by drafting low risk high reward players late in the draft that may address future needs, and players who could use development but could provide depth immediately in the middle rounds.

Cravens would play safety for Carolina. He is a hard-hitting, ball hawking, instinctive prospect who is considered a tweener because he is bigger than most safeties but smaller than most linebackers. The USC product could make an instant impact because of his versatility. Some scouts compare Cravens to Myles Jack and Shaq Thompson, but in reality Cravens is better suited to cover tight ends and blitz than either of the other two. There are few players who fit poorly in Carolina’s defensive scheme, but there are fewer players who would fit better than Cravens.

Alternate picks: Jonathan Bullard (DE Florida), Emmanuel Ogbah (DE Ok State)

Second round: Carl Nassib, DE, Penn State

One of the reasons I made this pick was that the Panthers fans on Reddit have consistently picked up Nassib in the second round this year. Some will question why that is important, and it may not be, but last year they consistently mock drafted Shaq Thompson to the Panthers. With that out-of-the-way, Nassib is a hulking 6-foot-7, 277 pound defensive end who is a former walk-on. He has great instincts and a motor that never stops, however, he is a raw prospect. Nassib fits the hog-molly persona that Gettleman loves to draft and could use a year behind a player like Charles Johnson to truly succeed.

Alternate picks: Kenny Clark (DL UCLA), Sheldon Day (DL Notre Dame)

Harlan Miller has met with the Panthers at least four separate times and that is no coincidence. He is a small school prospect but is the prototypical corner for Carolina’s zone scheme. His fluid hips and long arms allow him to break on passes without giving the quarterback much room for error, and his reaction speed helps him make quarterbacks pay for not respecting his abilities. Miller is a prospect who will need at least a year to transition into an NFL defense, but the team that lets him develop should be rewarded with a true playmaker.

Alternate picks:James Bradberry (CB Samford), Pharoh Cooper (WR SCAR)

Fourth round: D.J. Reader, DL, Clemson

Reader is a defensive line prospect whose biggest knock is that he did not have a breakout year. While at Clemson the 6-foot-3, 325 pound defensive tackle filled gaps as a nose guard and a three technique tackle. He specializes in run stopping and space eating, both things the Panthers may be without if Star Lotulelei leaves the team in free agency following the 2017 season, or gets injured before that. While at Clemson Reader stepped away from football for personal reasons before coming back and playing at a high level. This prospect is a potential draft day steal because of his ability to balance, use his hands, find the ball and take on linemen at the same time.

Alternate picks: Joe Haeg (OT North Dakota State), Sean Davis (DB Maryland)

Fifth round: Cole Toner, OT, Harvard

Intelligence, athleticism and size are generally what teams look for in an offensive tackle prospect and Toner checks every box. He also happens to be a durable player, only missing four games in his college career. The main knock on Toner is his level of competition, which is understandable. However, with a year or two to develop in an NFL weight room against NFL talent Toner has the potential to be a real answer at either left or right tackle. He is not a mauler like Trai Turner, but he makes up for that by moving to the second-level fluidly and quickly to open up space for runners.

Alternate picks: Ben Braunecker (TE Harvard), Keith Marshall(RB Georgia)

Seventh round: Devin Lucien, WR, ASU

This prospect is an underrated receiver. He had seven drops over his college career, which included going to UCLA for three years and then transferring to Arizona State. While at Arizona State, he totaled 1,074 yards, which is 754 more yards than he produced all three years at UCLA. His route-running needs work but his hands and sub 4.5 40-yard dash, will get teams interested. For a seventh round pick, Lucien is a low risk high reward player who fills a void on the Panthers’ receiving depth chart with his soft hands.

Alternate picks: Aaron Green (RB TCU), Moritz Boehringer (WR Germany)

FINAL FOUR POINTS: