When the Panters took the very talented--and possessing the perfect skillset the Patriots look for--Trai Turner of LSU in this year's draft in the third round, just before the pick of the Patriots, that's when they traded out of pick #92 for a fourth (which became Bryan Stork) and a sixth (who was Jamea Thomas).
We almost had our starting guard! (Turner has cracked the starting rotation down in Panther land.) Make me think they may have had their eyes solely on Turner, the athletic doppelganger to Brian Waters, the guy they had for a year from the Chiefs who performed so admirably at RG and, when Trai Turner was nabbed, they traded down to get more value. We didn't catch a break in this year's third round, methinks.
The truth is Connelly is traditionally a better center than he is a guard. Stabilizing the guard position was eminently do-able in the draft. We just got unlucky.
I also really liked David Yankey out of Stanford who went a lot later than most people predicted.
What I can't understand is how much Josh Kline improved last year in the few games he played. I had him penciled in as the starter LG, and Marcus Cannon at the RG, with Connelly moved back to center where he is more physical than a competent if occasionally overwhelmed Ryan Wendell.