"We have a little bit of everything as we move forward," said Panthers General Manager Bill Zito, who was overseeing his third draft since joining the Cats. "The guys are pretty fired up. We didn't have the high picks, but we managed to get guys that were all very high on our list."
When asked about a common thread between all seven of this year's draftees, Zito said the organization takes both character and skill into account when it comes to evaluating talent.
"At the beginning we set out putting emphasis on I guess what we would call being a Panther," he said. "So character was obviously something we looked for, but generally it's best player available. That's been a theme that we established with the first draft when I got here, and it's carried through the whole time."
Needing to find late-round value, Zito also gave plenty of credit to his scouts after the draft.
"Kudos to our amateur staff in particular," he said. "Through Covid, travel restrictions, cancelled games, the video, all of the hurdles that were placed in front of them, they just worked diligently and kept their heads down and kept fighting through it. I'm really proud of them and impressed by them and humbled by them. They really did a yeoman's task and worked their tail off."
To see the fruits of that labor, continue reading below to learn more about this year's picks.
