CHARLOTTE, N. Cortez Kennedy Jersey .C. - The Panthers say theyd like to find a replacement for longtime No. 1 wide receiver Steve Smith in this years NFL draft. The big question is when theyll do it. The Panthers have the 28th overall pick, but the NFC South champions have a variety of needs after getting hit hard in free agency, and could go in a number of directions with their first-round choice. General manager Dave Gettleman said recently that wide receiver, offensive tackle and cornerback are among the teams top needs, but qualified that statement by adding he wont got out of his way to land one. "When you reach for a position of need youre in trouble," he said. Gettleman said he has some reservations about drafting a receiver in the first round because it often takes them longer to adjust to the NFL game than those who play other positions. "History tells you that its a very difficult position to assimilate into (the NFL), especially with the current game being played at the college level," Gettleman said. Gettleman called it a "wide receiver heavy" draft that includes several players whove put up big numbers. He said the trick is finding guys who can easily make the transition to the next level. "Ill look at a guy and hes caught 90 balls ... but of those 45 were flash screens," Gettleman said. "The other 45 he caught, he ran to three spots. So, do they understand coverage? Theyre going to have to learn the whole route tree. How long is it going to take them to assimilate? Its an issue. Its a problem." Smith was released in a salary cap move earlier this off-season. Replacing his toughness and production wont be easy. He caught 836 passes for 12,197 yards and 67 touchdowns for the Panthers in 13 seasons. However, after averaging 76 receptions for 1,284 yards receiving and 5.5 touchdowns in his first two seasons playing with quarterback Cam Newton, Smiths numbers fell off in 2013. He caught 64 passes for 745 yards and four TDs. The Panthers signed free agents Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant and Tiquan Underwood, but none is expected to become the next No. 1 receiver in Carolina. Five things to watch from the Panthers in the draft: ON THE FRONT BURNER: Jordan Gross retired this off-season, leaving a huge hole at left tackle — one the Panthers potentially could address in Round 1. Gettleman said there are some tackles in the draft dont have "left tackle feet," but said that doesnt necessarily matter. "There are only so many elite tackles," he said. "There are plenty of guys playing left tackle in this league that dont have classic left tackle feet." Finding a left tackle might take on added importance given Newton is coming off ankle surgery this off-season. FIRST ROUND SUCCESS: The Panthers have had tremendous success with their first-round picks the last three seasons. They grabbed defensive tackle Star Lotulelei from Utah at No. 14 in 2013, and he looks like hes going to be around the league for quite a while. They drafted linebacker Luke Kuechly at No. 11 in 2012 and quarterback Cam Newton first overall the year before that. Kuechly was the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, while Newton was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2011. BLUE GOOSE: Last year, Gettleman said the Panthers needed to add some "hog mollies," or big linemen. This year, the Boston native switched gears, saying if there is a "blue goose" pass rusher available at No. 28 he wouldnt pass on him. Tough to know what a blue-winged bird native to Ethiopia has to do with building a football team, though. CORNERBACK ON RADAR: The Panthers lost starting cornerback Captain Munnerlyn to Minnesota in free agency. While they signed free agent Antoine Cason, dont rule out cornerback as an option with one of the teams top three picks. The Panthers have one pick in each of the seven rounds. DONT BE REACHING: The Panthers are determined not to reach for picks at positions of need. They followed that plan last year and took defensive tackle Kawaan Short from Purdue in the second round — even after selecting Lotulelei in the first. "Last year, K.K. (Short) was obviously the best value in that second-round pick," Gettleman said. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Ricardo Lockette Jersey . The executive board of the Major League Baseball Players Association voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Clark to replace Michael Weiner, who died Nov. Jeremy Lane Womens Jersey . Olivieri, at city hall to help kick off ticket sales for the Aug. 5-24 event to be held in four Canadian cities, said Wednesday that Canada has a new generation of talent on the rise that can make its name just as Sinclair did at the same event in 2002 in Edmonton.MOSCOW -- Canadian ice dancer Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje qualified for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Japan with a second-place finish at the Rostelecom Cup on Saturday. Weaver and Poje, both from Waterloo, Ont., finished first in the ice dancing free skate with 101.64 points for a combined 163.14 points in the Russian event. The pair scored 61.50 points for their performance in the short program on Friday. Earlier, Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto took bronze in the pairs program to also qualify for the Japan final. Poje says he and Weaver used their disappointing short dance score as motivation heading into Saturdays event. "After not having the most positive score on the short dance we wanted to make sure we came back and showed that we have a strong free dance ... and I feel like we did that," he said. "We didnt achieve a seasons best score, but we achieved a season-best performance for us." Weaver and Poje missed out on qualifying for the ISU Grand Prix Final last year. Now that theyve secured their spot in this years event, Weaver says that means "everything." "Its the last time the judges are going to see us before the Olympics," she said. "We want to leave a lasting impression and show that we are every bit eligible for that Olympic podium. "The best teams in the world will be at that final and thats our shot to measure ourselves up against them and see where we stand two short months before the Games. It will give us a very good judgement as to what we need to work on and what has gotten better since the last time weve been up against these teams." Canadas Olympic gold medallists in ice dancing in 2010, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of London, Ont. Terrelle Pryor Womens Jersey. ., have already qualified for the Grand Prix Final. Ekaterina Bobrova faltered during her free dance with Dmitri Soloviev, but the Russians held on for the ice dance gold with a total of 168.32 points. Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates took third place. Torontos Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finished sixth with 133.66 points. In the pairs figure skating event, Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany won gold, followed by Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov of Russia and Moore-Towers and Moscovitch. Moore-Towers fell on her chest coming out of a lasso lift, which she casually characterized as one of "a couple of little weird things" in the routine. Despite the fall, the Canadians picked up 123.08 points, staying in third place overall with 188.73 points. They will join Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., who have already qualified for the final pairs program in Japan. "For the most part we were strong from the beginning to the end," Moore-Towers said. "Our skating skills are improving every time out. We are excited to have made the final where we will have better performances." Moscovitch said the pair came into the competition well prepared after some solid training since Skate Canada a month ago. "Well definitely be hungry at the Grand Prix Final," he said. "Its always special to make the final, especially in an Olympic year. Its an opportunity to be among the top-six in the world and competing there will set us up well for the second half of the season." Ottawas Patrick Chan will compete in the Grand Prix Final in the mens program. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '