The awards were announced

General manager Marty Hurney felt he needed to upgrade team speed after the Panthers failed to win the NFC South the last two seasons.

He believes he’s done just that in the NFL draft.

The Panthers selected field-stretching tight end Ian Thomas from Indiana and speed rusher Marquis Haynes from Ole Miss in the fourth round Justin Britt Jersey , and middle linebacker Jermaine Carter from Maryland in the fifth. They closed out the final day by taking middle linebacker Andre Smith from North Carolina and defensive tackle Kendrick Norton from Miami in the seventh round.

Carolina placed a major emphasis on adding speed, a pattern established in the first two days of the draft when it took wide receiver D.J. Moore from Maryland in the first round, cornerback Donte Jackson from LSU in the second and safety Rashaan Gaulden in the third.

”I have always believed that you can’t teach speed – and that is a big part of this game,” Hurney said. ”You have to be big and you have to be physical, but you have to be fast, too. Coming into this offseason that was one of our goals to add speed, especially to the skill positions.”

The Panthers had won three straight NFC South titles before Atlanta won in 2016 and New Orleans triumphed in 2017.

They lost three times to the Saints last year, including a wild-card playoff loss at the Superdome.

”One of the things that you have to do is look at your division,” coach Ron Rivera said. ”To get into the playoffs you have to win your division. … So when you compare those teams in your division with what you have you most certainly have to be able to match up with those guys across the board.”

THOMAS’ TOUGH ROAD

The Panthers got the third day of the NFL draft started by selecting Thomas with the first pick in the fourth round. They believe he is from the same mold as Greg Olsen with the versatility to catch passes and block.

Thomas was raised by his siblings after both of his parents died before he was 10 years old -his mother from a kidney infection and his father from a heart attack a year later. Thomas has eight siblings in all, but was primarily raised by his brother, Clif Farmer.

”I always thank him any chance I get for helping us growing up and for helping me become the man I am today,” Thomas said. ”He knows how much love I have for him and how much love he has for all of us. I know it’s just a blessing to have him as an older brother and a role model.”

WHAT A JOKER

The Panthers are high on Haynes, even though he’s slight for an NFL defensive end at 235 pounds. Still, he broke Greg Hardy’s career record for sacks at Ole Miss with 32.

But Rivera also likes that Haynes can drop back in coverage and play the team’s ”joker” position.

Rivera says Haynes’ pass-rushing skills remind him of current Panthers defensive end Mario Addison.

”I got a knack for my first step, getting off the ball, because it really makes the offensive lineman really think that they have to overstep, I could then take an inside move Marlon Humphrey Jersey ,” Haynes said. ”But if they don’t, I can just run right around them and get to the quarterback.”

SWAGGER TIME

When the Panthers pulled the franchise tag on cornerback Josh Norman two years ago, they lost some serious swagger in the secondary.

Well, that attitude appears back courtesy of second-round pick Donte ”Action” Jackson from LSU. Although he’s only 5-foot-10 and 178 pounds, Jackson is plenty confident. When asked who’s the fastest player on the Carolina roster he responded quickly, ”Me, Donte Jackson.”

”Yeah I’m fast, but my mentality and my toughness and my confidence and my swagger is all there, it’s all football,” Jackson said. ”You know, that’s one thing I like to pride myself on. I never really liked to listen to people say I’m too small because I’ve been listening to that my whole life and it just adds fuel to the fire.”

Jackson’s father was in prison when he was growing up; he said he still speaks with him every other day.

STILL NEED

The Panthers never did find a replacement for running back Jonathan Stewart, cut during the offseason in a salary cap move. Rivera said that Cameron Artis-Payne will get ”the first crack” as the No. 2 back behind Christian McCaffrey. Carolina also didn’t draft a guard despite losing All-Pro Andrew Norwell to the Giants in free agency.

—

For the third time, Tom Brady is the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.

Now he goes for his sixth Super Bowl title, and perhaps with it a fifth MVP trophy for the NFL championship.

Brady added The Associated Press 2017 NFL MVP award Saturday night at NFL Honors to his wins in 2007 and 2010. The New England Patriots quarterback was joined as an honoree by three Los Angeles Rams: Coach of the Year Sean McVay, Offensive Player of the Year running back Todd Gurley and Defensive Player of the Year tackle Aaron Donald.

Other winners in voting by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league were Los Angeles Chargers receiver Keenan Allen as Comeback Player; New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara and cornerback Marshon Lattimore as top offensive and defensive rookies, respectively; and former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, now head coach of the New York Giants Garrett Celek Jersey , as Assistant Coach of the Year.

Brady is the second the player in the four major professional sports to win MVP at age 40; Barry Bonds won baseball’s award in 2004.

Wide receiver Julian Edelman, who missed the entire season with a knee injury, accepted for Brady.

”Thanks, thanks. Wait up. I literally just found out I was doing this like 20 minutes ago. So, I’ve got to read the text,” Edelman said.

”No, but I’m joking. But serious, Tom said he wanted to say he’s very honored and humbled that he gets this award for MVP. Also, he wanted to thank his teammates, his friends, his family and the Patriots organization for going out and doing what they do.”

Brady competed 385 of 581 passes (66.2 percent) for 4,577 yards and 32 touchdowns with eight interceptions as New England went 13-3 for the AFC’s best record. At an age when many QBs are deep into retirement, Brady is throwing deep – and short – as well as ever.

Donald was the first pure defensive tackle to win the award since Warren Sapp in 1999. He said it means ”everything. That’s one of the best to ever do it. So, even for my name to be next to that guy’s name is beyond a blessing. This is what you dream about as a kid, dreaming about playing in the NFL to have success like this, to be able to (play good enough) to win this trophy.”

Gurley’s sensational turnaround season in which he ran for 13 touchdowns and caught six TD passes sparked an equally impressive reversal of fortunes by his team, which won the NFC West at 11-5.

”The Saints got the rookies and we took home the offensive and defensive” player awards Deadrin Senat Jersey ,” Gurley noted. ”It just tells you the type of players we have on the team. We all help each other out, absolutely. We have some talent, but we’re nothing without the whole nine yards and everybody together. And we also have a coach who’s up for Coach of the Year.”

A little while later, McVay was handed the coaching award.

In his first season running a team and as the youngest head coach in NFL history, McVay led the Rams to a seven-game improvement. McVay, who turned 32 on Jan. 24, ran away with the voting with 35 votes to 11 for Minnesota’s Mike Zimmer.

”What it means is we had a good season that I think we can build on,” McVay said. ”But you have to earn it every single day. It’s a very humbling league.”

The Rams’ hat trick of awards was not unprecedented. In 2003, Baltimore’s Ray Lewis was top defensive player, Jamal Lewis won best offensive player, and Terrell Suggs was Defensive Rookie of the Year. And in 1999, the St. Louis Rams had three award winners: Kurt Warner (MVP), Marshall Faulk (Offensive Player) and Dick Vermeil (Coach).

New Orleans’ sweep of the rookie awards was the first since 1967, when Detroit running back Mel Farr and cornerback Lem Barney were honored. That was the first season for the top defensive rookie award.

”You get caught up in the season, you don’t really get time to pat yourself on the back,” Kamara said. ”But when the season is over you realize what you’ve done. I’ve kind of had to time to look back and say, I made some history this season.”

Kamara shared duties with veteran Mark Ingram as the Saints won the NFC South. He rushed for 728 yards with a 6.1-yard average Melvin Ingram Jersey , and scored eight times. He also caught 81 passes for 826 yards, with five touchdowns.

The 11th overall draft pick and first from his position selected, Lattimore was a shutdown defender as the Saints went 11-5. He had five interceptions and 18 passes defensed in 13 games, was a sure tackler and, by midseason, was someone opposing quarterbacks tended to avoid. He missed three games, one because of a concussion and two with an ankle injury.

Allen returned from two devastating injuries to win the comeback honor. Allen missed half of the 2015 season with a kidney issue, then was lost in the 2016 season opener with a torn right ACL. There were questions if Allen would ever player at a high level again.

He answered those emphatically this season with the best year of his career. Allen caught 102 passes for 1,393 yards and six touchdowns. He was targeted 159 times, nearly 10 per game.

The awards were announced Saturday night at NFL Honors, when Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt received the league’s Walter Payton Award as man of the year. Watt, in his seventh NFL season and a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, had the goal of raising $200,000 for Hurricane Harvey relief in Houston. His fundraising did a whole lot more, bringing in an incredible $37 million in 19 days.

”I’ve been fortunate to be on this stage and to win Defensive Player of the Year awards, but Womens Nick Nelson Jersey