How the Sam Darnold trade affects the Panthers’ approach to the 2021 NFL draft
The fact that the Panthers on Monday traded for former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold said two things.
One, the Panthers are moving on from Teddy Bridgewater as the starter.
And two, they weren’t convinced they could land their future franchise quarterback in the draft.
Before the San Francisco 49ers struck a deal with the Miami Dolphins, there was a belief that a quarterback could fall to the Panthers at No. 8. Many draft experts had the Panthers taking one.
But the 49ers’ deal showed that there are teams willing to pay top dollar just to get one of the top quarterbacks in the draft. There’s a good chance that all five of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft will be gone by the time the Panthers pick at No. 8. And the price tag to get into the top four became more than what the Panthers were willing to pay.
“We wanted to keep our picks this year, one, two and three,” Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said in a Zoom call Monday. “That was really important to us, especially picking as high as we are.”
That left the Panthers needing to make a deal to address their quarterback situation. Fitterer said discussions with New York Jets’ general manager Joe Douglas heated up around Ohio State’s pro day last week, and continued through Monday, when they finally agreed to a trade.
Draft flexibility
While trading for Darnold doesn’t preclude the Panthers from drafting a quarterback in the first round, it does lessen the possibility that they will draft one.
The Panthers see Darnold as a starter next season, and believe he has the potential to be their franchise quarterback.
And that allows them to take the best available player at No. 8 and not reach for a quarterback.
They could also still trade up with perhaps the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 5, Miami Dolphins at No. 6 or Detroit Lions at No. 7, if the price is right.
Trading back is also an option.
“Not to tip our hat too much going into the draft, I do believe in building on both sides of the line — offensive line and defensive line,” Fitterer said. “I think (cornerback) is going to be a position we look at as well.”
“...but the bottom line is we have to shore up the offensive and defensive line.”
Thinking offense
Both position groups were weaknesses for the Panthers in 2020, but the offensive line is less stable for the future. The Panthers don’t have a guaranteed starter at left tackle or left guard. Center Matt Paradis is 32 and has three years left on his contract. Right guard John Miller was signed to a one-year deal.
And right tackle Taylor Moton signed the franchise tag, guaranteeing him only 2021 season. He’ll be a free agent again in 2022. The Panthers did sign Cameron Erving and Pat Elflein, who play tackle and guard respectively, but neither are considered long term options, nor guaranteed starters.
If the Panthers choose to address offensive line in the first round, they can likely stay at No. 8 and still get one of the top two offensive tackles in the draft — either former Oregon left tackle Penei Sewell or former Northwestern offensive tackle Rayshawn Slater.
Both are considered Day 1 starters.
Sewell was projected by many draft experts to be taken No. 5 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals.
But that opinion has since changed, and some experts believe the Bengals will take former LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase instead. If Sewell is not taken by the Bengals or Dolphins’ at No. 6, he’ll likely be available when the Panthers pick.
Thinking defense
Then there’s defensive line. And while the Panthers could draft a defensive lineman in the top 10, that likely won’t be the case. Most of the top defensive lineman project to be middle- to late first round draft picks. So the Panthers would have to trade back.
In the meantime, the Panthers have the eighth pick and a new quarterback they believe can flourish in Joe Brady’s offense.
Darnold is considered a low risk, high reward type of player. He will count $4.8 million against the Panthers’ salary cap. So if he doesn’t work out, the Panthers don’t feel they’ve risked much.
“I like the skillset. He’s only 23 years old,” Fitterer said of Darnold. “A lot of these quarterbacks don’t mature and hit their prime until they are 24, 25, and 26.
“If this is a player we can hit on for this price and he is our quarterback for the future, it’s definitely worth the gamble.”
This story was originally published April 5, 2021 at 8:30 PM.
