Survivor I - Rod Gardner Commentary

NOTE: this draft was completed on 7/24

Recent Stats

YR	RSH	RSHYD	RSHTD	REC	RECYD	RECTD	FPT	RANK
2002	1	1	0	71	1006	8	148.7	17
2003	0	0	0	59	600	5	100.3	34
2004	3	7	0	51	650	5	95.7	45

Positives - At the time of the pick, Gardner was still with the Redskins, but it was apparent that he was either going to be cut or traded. It turns out Carolina picked him up and he’ll likely be the #2 wide receiver for the Panthers behind Steve Smith. The Panthers needed a tall receiver to take over for the departed Muhsin Muhammad and Rod Gardner at 6’2 fits the bill. While Steve Smith will very likely be the go-to guy for Jake Delhomme, Rod Gardner will still get plenty of looks himself. Second year receiver Keary Colbert is having hamstring issues in training camp, which also further opens the door for Gardner to excel.

Negatives - Gardner is new to the Carolina offense, unlike Keary Colbert. Even though the Panthers want Gardner to fill the role of the departed Muhammad, it may not be that easy of a transition. Redskins fans will tell you that Rod Gardner is not all he’s cracked up to be. Although he has never had less than 46 receptions or 4 touchdowns in a season, he hasn’t exactly lived up to his lofty expectations of a first round draft pick.

Draft Strategy - Value – I knew that Gardner was not going to stay with the Redskins. The moment David Patten signed, he was gone – the only question was, where is he going? At the time of the pick, it was still up in the air. I was hoping it wouldn’t be Tennessee, because that would mean that the Titans aren’t that high on Tyrone Calico (my 11th pick) coming back strong after injury. I would be happy with Seattle or Carolina and as luck would have it – he’s Carolina bound. To get a player with Gardner’s talent and skill this late in the draft is a steal, in my opinion. The fact that he’ll likely be the #2 wide receiver on a good offensive system is icing on the cake.