NEW ORLEANS -- Coming off a 2-14 season in which they had the league's worst offense (196 points, 75 fewer than any other team) and yielded 408 points, the Carolina Panthers can't count the number of holes they must fill. With the top pick in the draft, they are leaning toward, well, who knows?
"We're going through the whole process and we still have about eight guys at various positions we're looking at," coach Ron Rivera said. "We're 60 percent of the way along."
Carolina's most glaring needs are at quarterback, receiver, tight end, both lines and in the secondary. Not that there's a particular strength on the roster, either.
That puts QBs Blaine Gabbert and Cam Newton in the mix for the Panthers, along with any of the dynamic defensive linemen and wideouts A.J. Green of Georgia and Julio Jones of Alabama.
"We have another few weeks to do more evaluations and to meet with the players and everything that goes into making this pick," Rivera said.