The Carolina Panthers are fresh off their most interesting draft in recent memory. First-year general manager Scott Fitterer navigated the three-day slog like a – pardon the phrase – crafty veteran, pulling off five trades and addressing nearly every roster need.
Fitterer has rightfully gotten high marks for his work. Important questions remain, though. We’d still like to know who they plan to start at free safety, for one.
The elephant in the room is whether or not the Panthers made the right call in round one when they passed on Justin Fields in favor of Jaycee Horn.
In Darin Gantt’s opus on the draft, he says coach Matt Rhule called Horn being available at No. 8 “what we wanted all along.”
That may not be just propaganda and Horn could very well transform Carolina’s defense more than anyone else in this class.
However, everything we knew heading into the draft led us to believe Fields was the target. At the very least, they thought about picking him. Not long after the team picked up Sam Darnold’s fifth-year option on Day 2, Adam Schefter reported that the Panthers considered taking Fields.
No matter how good the rest of this draft class is, if choosing Darnold over Fields turns out bad it’s the kind of blunder that can haunt careers.
It didn’t take long for another team to leap at the chance to take Fields. Ryan Pace’s Bears sent four selections to Dave Gettleman’s Giants to move up from No. 20 to No. 11 and pick him.
Apparently, Carolina also took a call from the Bears while they were on the clock but they didn’t want to move down that far, per Gantt.
“The Bears were among the teams the Panthers talked to in those moments, and without getting into the specifics of any proposals, it’s clear that moving back 12 spots in this year’s order was too far for the Panthers to feel comfortable falling without an overpayment.”
This meshes with what Fitterer told us heading into the draft – namely that the Panthers identified 16 prospects this year with first-round grades. Trading down past that point might have put them all out of reach.
All the value picks in the world won’t be much solace if Fields becomes the franchise quarterback the Bears have been seeking for decades, though.
On paper, the Panthers have set Darnold up for success as much as they could. Drafting Saints-target Terrace Marshall in the second round then trading up for Brady Christensen established a firmer foundation for their new QB1. Selecting Chuba Hubbard, Deonte Brown and Shi Smith later added more layers of support.
Along with a clever young offensive coordinator in Joe Brady, there’s no question that Darnold has the tools. He also has some very high expectations to meet.
[lawrence-related id=636498,636354]
[vertical-gallery id=636321]