Reviewing Ron Rivera’s draft history on Days 2 and 3

Conclusion

So, some general takeaways from Rivera’s draft history on Days 2 and 3.

First, Rivera isn’t afraid to double up at positions of need from the three-corner draft of 2016 to the back-to-back defensive tackles in 2011, there are plenty of examples of the team targeting several options to fill a gaping hole. That’s a smart strategy especially when paired with the best player available philosophy Rivera tends to use in the first round.

Rivera tends to draft well in the second round as well. Most of the players the team selected there at least found some sort of success as role players before injuries or change in offensive scheme caused them to move on. Ealy is probably the worst of the second-rounders and even he found some success during his time with the Panthers.

Beyond that, Rivera is much more hit or miss, but the Panthers have found plenty of quality contributors. And Rivera has found a way to fit them into his team and coach them up, so that’s definitely a good sign as well.

At the end of the day, it looks like Rivera is a solid drafter on Days 2 and 3. Not every pick has worked out, but they never all do. They call the draft a crapshoot for a reason. And realistically, only two of Rivera’s Day 2 and Day 3 draft classes should be collectively categorized as poor (2011 and 2016).

Finding guys like Trai Turner, Josh Norman, and Tre Boston outside of the first two rounds is definitely good. And hopefully, Rivera will be able to pull off something similar with the 66th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Again, it’s worth noting that Marty Hurney and Dave Gettleman played a role in some of these Panthers picks. But Rivera ultimately had a say and did a good job of identifying talent. If Rivera can work well with Kyle Smith who has led the ‘Skins to solid drafts over the course of the past few offseasons, the duo should be able to add some talent to the team with their arsenal of picks.