New PFF mock draft has Carolina Panthers not picking a quarterback in first round
Pro Football Focus has been releasing mock drafts every Monday for the better part of this NFL season, but today, instead of using one of their scouting experts to project who would get picked where, the website left it up to math.
PFF’s Eric Eager, with the help of the company’s college-to-pro projection formula based heavily on text analytics (more on that here), made all 32 first-round picks. Instead of projecting Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal to the Jaguars as No. 1 overall (as 42% of mock drafts do), PFF has Michigan edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson heading to Jacksonville.
As far as the Carolina Panthers are concerned, Eager thinks they should take Mississippi State offensive tackle Charles Cross at No. 6 overall.
Cross, who’s 6-foot-5, 305 pounds, was all over the board in various mock drafts last week, going as high as to the Panthers to as low as the Steelers (17th in draft position for this weekend’s games) or Ravens (19). NFL Draft Network gives him a second-round grade, noting his lack of strength to block top run-stuffers.
He’s a redshirt sophomore with 20 starts at left tackle at Mississippi State.
“We also mustn’t forget that they consensually entered the season with Cam Erving as their left tackle, and the man did not disappoint — if you doubted it from the beginning, that is — earning a 55.1 PFF grade coming into Week 16,” Eager wrote. “After two mediocre seasons, Cross was great in 2021, grading above 84.9 as both a run-blocker and pass-blocker while playing left tackle for an upstart Bulldogs team.”
The Panthers need help along the offensive line and at quarterback in the 2022 draft and it will be a tough decision for coach Matt Rhule, owner David Tepper and general manager Scott Fitterer on which way to go in the first round. The most popular pick mock drafts have for the Panthers is Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett (17%).
