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CHARLOTTE, N.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 Joe Panik Jersey . The senior threw for 319 yards and no interceptions in his final college game, leading No. Andrew McCutchen Jersey . The 26-year-old Sobotka injured his left leg playing for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Blues said he would not recover from the injury in time for the Olympic tournament. http://www.sfgiantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Buster-Posey-Kids-Jersey/ . Therrien would not confirm his lineup for the game, but he did have the same line combinations practicing together for the third straight day which is usually a pretty good indication of what the lineup will be. Juan Marichal Jersey .Y. -- Scott Chandler is returning to Buffalo, where he spent the past three seasons establishing himself as the Bills top pass-catching tight end. Johnny Cueto Jersey . Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stood tall with 41 saves between the pipes, but it was defenceman Ryan McDonagh who got the first star of the game as he had a goal and an assist and now has two goals and four assists for six points in two games.Pitching for the first time at Fenway Park is probably exciting in its own right, but doing so with a chance to get his club a sweep should give Travis Wood an extra jolt of energy. Wood will look to keep his focus on Wednesday night when the Chicago Cubs wrap just their fourth all-time regular season series with the Boston Red Sox. You watch the game live on TSN2 at 7pm et/4pm pt. The left-hander is coming off a no-decision versus Washington on Thursday, one that saw him allow seven hits and five walks over 6 2/3 innings. He did manage to limit the damage to just three runs and his offense took him off the hook in a 5-3 win. "I kind of spaced out there for a bit and gave up too many walks," said Wood. "The guys really had my back tonight." The 27-year-old walked five batters for the second time in five starts and is 7-6 with a 4.52 earned run average on the season. However, Wood is pitching to a 6.07 ERA in eight outings on the road. Hoping to salvage the finale of this three-game set, the Red Sox turn to Brandon Workman for his first ever meeting with the Cubs. Workman picked up a loss on Friday to the New York Yankees despite lasting a season-high seven innings. He was charged with four runs on seven hits, including two homers, while fanning five in his first loss since last Sept. 8. The 25-year-old righty dipped to 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA in nine games (6 starts) this season and has a home ERA of 2.65. Workman will try to keep an incredible streak by Boston pitchers at home alive tonight. Though the RRed Sox lost 2-1 on Tuesday, it marked the 14th straight home game for Boston in which it held an opponent to three runs or fewer.dddddddddddd That is the longest such streak in franchise history and best in the American League since the Chicago White Sox in 1966-67. Dustin Pedroia had three hits and drove in Bostons only run on Tuesday. Closer Koji Uehara was unable to keep the game tied in the ninth, giving up a leadoff single to Anthony Rizzo and a double by Starlin Castro to set up Luis Valbuenas go-ahead sacrifice fly. Hector Rondon shut down the Red Sox in the ninth to post his 11th save, while Pedro Strop earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief behind Edwin Jackson. The starter scattered six hits and four walks over six innings of one-run ball. "Weve been very fortunate in that our starting pitching has done a nice job and our relief corps has done a really good job," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "Guys just scratched out a run or two to give us an opportunity to win." Clay Buchholz, in his second start since returning from the disabled list, only allowed one run on five hits over 6 1/3 innings for the Red Sox, who were shut out in Mondays opener. "I thought he had good stuff, probably one of the better fastballs hes had the entire season," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "I thought he threw a number of really good curveballs." The Cubs now own a slight 6-5 advantage all-time in the regular season versus the Red Sox. 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