Andrew Luck is going back to Stanford? Forget what that means for the Carolina Panthers, who hold the No. 1 pick in the real 2011 NFL Draft and would have loved to build their franchise around him. What the heck are all of those folks who love to do mock drafts going to do now?
↵Our friends at Mocking The Draft are speculating that the No. 1 pick will now come down to a choice between three players -- Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green, Clemson defensive Da'Quan Bowers and Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley.
↵It also leads you to think that if anyone really desperately wants one of those players they might be able to convince Carolina to move out of the No. 1 slot.
↵Predictably, the folks at SB Nation's Panthers blog, Cat Scratch Reader, are having a tough time hiding their bitterness.
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↵↵While not a surprise in and of itself this is a serious blow both to the Panthers organization, and the morale of a disenfranchised fan-base whose patience was stretched thin during the 2010 season.
↵Clearly, only a sociopath would wise Luck misfortune, but it's clear from the talent he's displayed as a player someone will be getting a very, very good quarterback. It's just extremely disappointing it wont be Carolina.
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This is sort of a good news, bad news thing for the local squads, the New York Giants and New York Jets. On the good side, it might make Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, a candidate for the Carolina job, less likely to go there now that the Panthers won't be getting a franchise quarterback to rebuild around. On the other hand, neither the Jets nor Giants are in the quarterback market, so this thins the talent pool of potential choices for them a little bit.