Panthers’ 3 best NFL draft scenarios tonight and what they should do with each
Grab your snacks and a beverage of choice. Draft day has finally arrived.
All of the speculation and mocks can be put to bed. Teams finally have to make their choices over the three days and seven rounds of the 2021 NFL draft.
The Carolina Panthers own seven picks in this year’s draft, starting with No. 8 overall. The team’s list of needs is long in the second year under coach Matt Rhule, and this time a new general manager, Scott Fitterer, will be leading the way. In a year with no NFL Combine, the team will hope that Rhule and his coaching staff’s time coaching and recruiting on the college level will be an asset.
There are a variety of options in the first round of the draft that would immediately make the 2021 team and squads in years to come better. The Panthers’ options will be impacted by the decisions by the teams ahead of them, especially if there is a run on the top five quarterbacks in this year’s class.
Trading down, a quarterback, investing in the offensive line, a receiving weapon and a defensive back are all on the table. The Observer’s Panthers beat reporters and columnist break down their choices for the Panthers.
Which teams’ decisions could impact Panthers
No. 4 — Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons’ selection is the first that has the potential to be a non-quarterback. Atlanta has been linked to Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, who many teams have as the top non-quarterback in this year’s class. That would leave two of the top quarterbacks to fall to later in the draft.
If the Falcons decide to select a quarterback, then some of the top pass-catchers in the draft are more likely to fall and potentially be available when the Panthers pick.
No. 5 — Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals are most likely going one of two ways — Oregon left tackle Penei Sewell or LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. How does that impact the Panthers?
If either of those players were to fall to Carolina, they would be easy picks to make and immediately improve the roster. It could also create a snowball effect. If Sewell was to drop, then the Lions may have less reason to be looking into trading back, which could present an opportunity for the Panthers. Chase falling could push another wide receiver to Carolina and it would probably be more difficult to trade back with teams unlikely to move up for a wide receiver.
No. 7 — Detroit Lions: Which brings us to Detroit. The Dolphins’ pick at No. 6 impacts the Panthers, but not quite as much as these other teams.
The Lions are a team with so many needs that trading back would make a lot of sense. That’s the biggest danger to Carolina. With the Panthers making their interest in a quarterback widely known, teams behind them could be looking to move up to No. 7 and grab someone like Fields, or possibly even Sewell if he’s available. The players that the Panthers would have a hard time passing on are Sewell, Pitts and Chase at No. 8. Someone jumping ahead of them to pick one of those players, or the Lions doing so, would make things more difficult.
Detroit could also pick a different receiver or Northwestern offensive lineman Rashawn Slater, and open up more opportunities for Carolina.
Trading back: Of course on the other end, multiple teams behind the Panthers deciding to trade up would provide opportunities to get a big deal in return. The Panthers can want to trade back, but someone has to be interested.
Here are our favorite three scenarios for the Panthers’ first-round pick, from the three Observer writers primarily covering the 2021 NFL draft.
Panthers draft Penei Sewell or Rashawn Slater
I’ve long said the Panthers’ biggest need this offseason was at left tackle. They haven’t had a consistent left tackle since Jordan Gross retired in 2013. As we reported earlier this week, the Panthers have started 14 different players at left tackle in that span. They just can’t get it right.
Drafting either Sewell, if he drops, or Slater, the second-best offensive tackle in this draft, solves that.
Sewell is said to be the best offensive tackle in the 2021 draft class. Sewell won the Outland Trophy award, which is given to the nation’s top interior lineman in 2019.
He was 19 when he won the award.
As for Slater, he isn’t far behind Sewell. Some teams believe Slater will be better at offensive guard and it’s why the Panthers may not choose him. Offensive guards aren’t typically taken in the top 10.
Perhaps that’s true.
But at least you’ll have someone who could potentially be a staple on your offensive line for the next 10 years, barring any significant injuries. Slater showed his potential when he held future No. 2 overall pick and NFL defensive rookie of the year Chase Young in check when Ohio State faced Northwestern on Oct. 19, 2019.
Why not draft someone with his potential, who could play multiple positions?
We saw what good offensive lines can do for teams, and how bad offensive lines can lead to trouble just by watching the Super Bowl.
Patrick Mahomes had to run for his life, while Tom Brady looked comfortable.
Sam Darnold didn’t have a good offensive line at New York, and that undoubtedly contributed to his struggles during his first three years. He said he was “seeing ghosts,” in a game against the New England Patriots in 2019.
Getting him the best offensive tackle available in the first round — and one will likely be there at No. 8 — would be the best help they could provide him.
— Jonathan M. Alexander
Panthers draft Justin Fields
The Panthers took care of the elephant in the room Wednesday, trading Teddy Bridgewater to the Denver Broncos for a sixth-round pick. What impact does that have on the draft?
Not much. Quarterback is still an option at the eighth overall pick, and the Panthers like Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. Why take Fields if he’s available? The Panthers, and owner David Tepper, are set on getting the quarterback position right. It’s not out of the question to have two players on rookie deals to see which will be “the guy.”
Darnold’s fifth-year option has not yet been picked up — the team has until May 3 — and it is certainly in the Panthers’ best interest for teams to think that quarterback is an option for the Panthers at No. 8. It will drive a better trade value if someone is still available.
There is a lot to like about Fields, from his ability to use his legs to his toughness to his ability to throw the ball deep.
Most importantly, we’ve seen the Panthers part ways with quarterbacks each of the last two years, moving from Cam Newton to Bridgewater and now Darnold. They just invested a second- and fourth-round pick next year in Darnold, and even if those picks aren’t acquired by trading back at some point, Fields should still be an option.
Quarterback is the most important position on the field. That’s why teams, rightfully so, invest a significant amount in those players. If Fields is sitting there at eight, he would be hard to pass on, unless the Panthers get an offer that blows them away. If not Fields, then the three options the Panthers can’t pass on are Pitts, Sewell and Chase.
— Alaina Getzenberg
Panthers trade down, grab a CB
My favorite scenario for these Carolina Panthers?
Trade down and get some more assets.
A team that has gone 5-11 two years in a row isn’t “one player away.” It’s several players away.
And the best way to get several good players over a two-year span is to make a trade down in the first round of the NFL draft, in that small window of time when other teams are in a bidding war and the price goes higher than it normally would. It’s like the fever at an auction, when the auctioneer is talking so fast that you get caught up in the excitement, and the Panthers need to capitalize on the draft-day version of this.
I’d like to see the Panthers trade down from No. 8 to somewhere between 9-15, allowing somebody else to give them back some of the draft picks they shipped off when they traded three selections away recently for quarterback Sam Darnold.
And then what, you say?
Take a cornerback.
The Panthers like all three of the top corners in this draft — Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley and South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn. You could certainly still pick a corner at No. 8, and I’m OK with that.
But it’s not ideal — particularly for Farley, the former high school star at Maiden, given his problematic injury history. Surtain or Horn look like the safer picks.
It’d be better to get another pick, move down a few spots and still grab the cornerback who may one day have to replace Donte Jackson (entering a contract year) or A.J. Bouye (who turns 30 in August). In the NFC South, there is no such thing as having too many good corners. The Panthers need another.
— Scott Fowler
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 7:00 AM.