CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Breaking down the trade of three draft picks to Philadelphia to select offensive tackle Jeff Otah in 2008, one of the riskiest moves by the Carolina Panthers over the past 25 years:
Round/overall selection: First/19th.
Did the risk pay off: Absolutely not. The Panthers gave Philadelphia their second- and fourth-round picks in 2008 and first-round pick in 2009 to get Pittsburgh’s Otah, considered one of the top tackles in the draft. Then-general manager Marty Hurney felt the organization was a piece or two away from competing for the Super Bowl and that Otah could be vital to the ground-oriented offense.