The Carolina Panthers’ plans at quarterback are starting to take shape with one month to go before the new league year. The front office is clearly dissatisfied with starter Teddy Bridgewater’s work in 2020 and is seemingly working to get an upgrade at any cost before next season begins.
Carolina has been involved in all of the recent veteran quarterback trade chatter, including Deshaun Watson, Matt Stafford, Sam Darnold and Carson Wentz. The draft is still the best place to find a franchise QB, though. Finally, we have some solid evidence regarding the team’s interest in a couple of top 2021 QB prospects.
Jourdan Rodrigue has been covering the Rams this season for the Athletic but we can assume she’s still as plugged-in for Carolina as any beat reporter. Speaking with Nora Princiotti on The Ringer’s new NFL podcast, Rodrigue said she knows the Panthers “love” Justin Fields and “like” Mac Jones.
"I know they love Justin Fields. I know they like Mac Jones."
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) February 17, 2021
Fascinating stuff, considering how different these two quarterbacks are.
Fields has been talked up as a potential Cam Newton replacement for a lot of reasons, mostly because he has the same frame, if a little smaller. While he’s not considered a slam-dunk prospect like Trevor Lawrence (nobody else is in this class), Fields has the same powerful arm and legs and could have a high ceiling at the next level.
Meanwhile, Jones is much more of a Teddy Bridgewater type of passer. His game is all about picking a defense apart with his brain as opposed to sheer arm strength. Jones moves well in the pocket but isn’t mobile at all and is much more of a traditional pocket QB than the kind of dual-threat, improvisational stars that are thriving at the position right now.
Which way they decide to go at this spot will give us a great idea of how things will move forward for this roster in the Matt Rhule and Scott Fitterer era. For what it’s worth, we prefer the Fields-type of QB and he’s our No. 1 prospect and preferred option to start for Carolina in 2021 outside of Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence.
Love comes at a cost, though.
If the Panthers really want Fields, they’ll have to trade up to No. 2 with the Jets or No. 3 with the Dolphins to get him. Meanwhile, Carolina might still be able get Jones even if they trade down from No. 8 overall into the teens while adding more picks.
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