Dawn of the Dawg Draft prediction:
I would love to see Trent get taken high. As a Dawg fan, you always want the best for former players and it would be great to see him surprise many by being a 2nd round pick. But ultimately I don’t think that’s going to happen.
I think Thompson will likely fall out of day two. I can see him being one of those guys that sits around the top of the board at the start of day 3. That’s where I see him being drafted and I think it will be early. I can also see a team trading up in the round to make sure they get him. While he has his issues, the talent is there and the position is weak this year.
Like I said, a lot of teams could end up picking Thompson. One that I think could be worth keeping an eye on is the Carolina Panthers. They run the 4-3 scheme that I think Thompson will be the best fit in. With Kawann Short and Dontari Poe, they already have two pro bowl caliber players signed for the next few years. What they need however is to build some young depth behind both of those two guys.
Thompson would make a lot of sense because he can play a similar role to Short. He would have an opportunity to learn from one of the best in the game and hopefully get healthy. When he’s ready, he could rotate in to give Short a breather when needed.
Next: Offensive players to watch for on G-day
Down the road, Thompson could be ready to step in and take a bigger role as Short comes to the tail end of his expensive contract. If they can develop him right, Thompson would help provide 5-7 more years of high end DT play for the Panthers.