The selections 
CHARLOTTE -- The Panthers knew who they wanted at around 8 p.m. Saturday evening. The problem was, they weren't going to be able to get Florida State defensive end Everette Brown without a bold move.
"Everette was somebody that we said coming in (to the draft) that if he was there at a certain spot, we would try to get him," said Panthers general manager Marty Hurney.
With that, the Panthers went to work, hit the phone lines hard and finally came down with a deal that brought them the No. 43 pick, which they used to take the coveted defensive end. The trade altered the tone of the Panthers' draft. Instead of a solitary pick at No. 59 -- just five selections before the final one of the day -- Carolina had a speedy defensive end who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in sacks.
An hour later, the Panthers used the 59th pick to select cornerback Sherrod Martin from Troy, closing out a day that suddenly became busier than expected, but that played into Hurney's declaration nine days earlier that flexibility would be crucial for the Panthers on draft weekend.
The trade was not without cost; while the Panthers also picked up an extra fourth-rounder on Sunday (No. 111 overall), they had to deal their first-rounder in next year's draft. Such a move comes attached with a degree of risk.
"Sure it is -- every time you do it," Hurney said. "But you do it for players that you think can come in and help you right away, and I think that when you look at giving up next year's first for a guy like Everette Brown, you have him for a year, and then he's that much better in 2010, and we had him (graded) as a first-rounder this year.
"It's always hard. You do think about that. You only do it for the right player, and we thought he was the right player to do it for."
And quite possibly the "right player" for the new scheme that Ron Meeks is installing in his first offseason as Panthers defensive coordinator, with pass-rush abilities and size -- 6-foot-2, 256 pounds -- that call to mind the skill set and dimensions possessed by the standout defensive ends Ron Meeks coached in Indianapolis -- Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.
"(Brown) is a different player than Robert Mathis, but he does have a good first step," Hurney said. "He plays with good strength. He has a knack for rushing the passer. He has pass-rush moves.
"I think he can get somewhat bigger. I don't know whether it's by leaps and bounds, but he plays strong at 256 (pounds)."
With 20 sacks the last two seasons -- including 13.5 last year -- he proved quite effective at that size, which impressed the Panthers. Brown said that they contacted him last weekend through college scout Mike Szabo, and the ensuing conversation left the Stantonburg, N.C. resident buoyed.
"He said in the eight years he's been there he hasn't seen a guy like me with my package that I bring to the table," Brown said. "They were high on me and, hopefully, they could get me."
That required a very public tumble down the draft board, as an ESPN camera captured Brown's agonizing wait. Many draft pundits expected his name to go perhaps two dozen slots earlier, so by the 42nd overall pick, Brown appeared crestfallen.
Moments later, dejection turned to jubilation. His NFL home was his home team.
"If I had one team that I could have gone to, it would have been the Carolina Panthers," Brown said. "I didn't think I had a chance to be playing with the Carolina Panthers, but if I could have picked my team, I would have definitely picked the Carolina Panthers. That was my hometown team. That is the team I grew up watching. The only NFL game I've ever been to was in the Panthers' stadium. I'm just looking forward and eager to get in the stadium and get to work."
General manager Marty Hurney has now made draft-day trades in seven of the last eight drafts. (PHOTO: ANDREW MASON / PANTHERS.COM)
SIXTEEN PICKS LATER, the Panthers stood pat and nabbed Martin, a standout safety at Troy who will move to cornerback.
"He's very explosive. A tough kid; a hard hitter. Everybody at school has great things to say about him," Hurney said. "We think he can come in and be in the mix at corner."
This won't be the first time Martin has played cornerback; it'll be the second. His transition began during Senior Bowl week in January.
"I played all cornerback," he said. "That was really (the extent of) my experience at cornerback. It started out pretty rough at first -- I didn't feel like I was at my full potential, showing how well I could play. But each day I got better and better, and I showed that I was a fast learner and able to progress."
The NFL teams that talked to Martin had a myriad of slots for the first-team All-Sun Belt conference performer.
"They talked about me being anywhere from corner to safety to nickel back to dime back," he said. "The best thing about me is that I'm a versatile guy, and I'm athletic enough to be whatever they need me (to be)."
HURNEY ALSO SAID there was "nothing new" on the status of defensive
"I think you just let the process go to this point, and then obviously there will be more communication and we'll see," Hurney said. "But certainly, as I said earlier, we look forward to having Julius back."
Hurney also said that he was not presented with any trade proposals for Peppers.
DAY TWO OF THE DRAFT begins at 10 a.m. EDT. Carolina has five selections:
• Third round (No. 93 overall)
• Fourth round (No. 111 overall, from San Francisco)
• Fourth round (No. 128 overall)
• Fifth round (No. 163 overall)
• Sixth round (No. 202 overall)
MORE FROM DAY ONE:
• Everette Brown Q&A
• Sherrod Martin Q&A
• As it happened: Draft Day One
