D.J. Hackett to the Panthers

One of the biggest under the radar free agents this off season has signed on with team and did it, well, under the radar. D.J Hackett, who has shown sporadic moments of awesome when he was healthy in Seattle, has signed on with the Carolina Panthers for the 2008 season.

The problem with Hackett, isn't his talent, its his ability to stay on the field and produce consistent numbers. This signing along with the signing of Muhsin Muhammad give the Panthers a better 1-2-3 combination then they have had in years. Even if one of them goes down, there is still a solid guy to play alongside Steve Smith. 

The signing indicates to me that this is Jake Delhomme's last stand as starting QB in Carolina. He battled injury last year, and was ineffective even when healthy. He will enter the season as the unquestioned starter and is now a bit of  a sleeper entering 2008.

FANTASY IMPACT

The signing means nothing if Carolina cannot first and foremost determine who is going to be running the ball. DeAngelo Williams has shown flashes of brilliance and the ability to put up numbers when healthy, which doesn't happen often. If he can stay on the field and the team can find a better complement to him than Deshaun Foster, the Panthers might see some improvement in the ground game. 

I do like this move for all three of the aforementioned WRs. Smith is by far the most dominant of the bunch and a player, who is one of the best in the game at his position. Hackett has shown he can be very good and will benefit from a change of scenery. Muhammad's best days are behind him, but his size and the double teams that Steve Smith will draw will give him space to operate and more favorable one on one match ups, especially in the red zone.

Smith, Hackett and Muhammad, should be drafted in that order, and are injury risks.