The last time we saw an ESPN NFL mock draft from Mel Kiper Jr., a quarterback first came off the board at No. 18, with Kenny Pickett going to the New Orleans Saints.
This time? He’s with his colleague Todd McShay, who had the Carolina Panthers taking a quarterback at pick No. 6.
And this time, it’s the same quarterback our Christian D’Andrea has the Panthers taking in his latest FTW NFL mock draft: Liberty’s Malik Willis.
It makes complete sense. The Panthers need a QB and maybe Willis has the most upside (although in our NFL draft quarterback rankings, Pickett is ahead of Willis). Here’s what Kiper wrote:
Doesn’t Carolina coach Matt Rhule have to take a swing on a quarterback here? The Panthers don’t have second- or third-round picks. Rhule will enter the season on the hot seat, and this is his chance to buy some time with a high-ceiling rookie signal-caller. Willis is going to make some mistakes, but he will be fun to watch. He might nail a perfect deep ball to Robby Anderson and then throw a pick in the red zone on the next play. But he’s going to keep getting better with more time, and Carolina does have some skill position talent to help him.
Makes sense!
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