Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With the combine wrapped up and the QB dominoes starting to fall, let’s take our fourth crack at a 2022 Panthers mock draft.
Well, let’s try to get at least one more of these in while the Carolina Panthers still have these picks.
So, with a little post-NFL Scouting Combine twist, let’s run through our fourth mock draft of the offseason.
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar chops up all the draft, trade, and free agency news with Brian Baldinger of the NFL Network
It’s always great to talk football with Brian Baldinger, the former NFL offensive lineman and current analyst whose brand can be found at (deep breath) NFL Films, the NFL Network, Compass Media, Audacy, Sky Sports, Baldy’s Breakdowns on Twitter, and Coach Tube.
This time around, we started with Baldy’s courses on Coach Tube, and why they’re a treasure trove for football fans who want to know more about the game. Then, we went deep on several subjects around the draft and free agency.
Great stuff as always from Baldy, and you can watch the entire video conversation right here.
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The Panthers seem likely to use their first-round pick on an offensive lineman, with Iowa C Tyler Linderbaum possibly under consideration.
The Carolina Panthers’ need for offensive linemen has been a secret to absolutely nobody. So, of course, much of their focus heading into Indianapolis this weekend had to be on the upcoming draft’s hog mollies.
And now, with the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine all wrapped up, that focus remains the same—at least according to ESPN.
Senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler and NFL insider Dan Graziano came away with a plentiful of bag of nuggets from Lucas Oil Stadium from the past few days. Among those delicious nuggies was the reinforcement of that perceived approach for the Panthers, with a relatively fresh name possibly in mind.
“. . . teams I expect to consider linemen with high first-round picks are the Panthers at No. 6 and the New York Giants, who hold picks Nos. 5 and 7,” Graziano notes. “If NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu isn’t the No. 1 overall pick, I believe he’ll be of interest especially to the Giants, who could take him at No. 5 or even move up a spot or two to get him if that’s what it takes. I wouldn’t be surprised if Carolina looked at Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum with that No. 6 pick.”
While the center position isn’t one that often warrants that high of a selection, Linderbaum is widely considered the best prospect at the spot in quite some time. The 2021 unanimous All-American did not participate in workout portions of the combine, instead just opting to measure in at 6-foot-2 and 296 pounds.
Even if Carolina doesn’t go that route, there are a handful of other players to ponder when it comes to the line. Along with Ekwonu—Alabama’s Evan Neal, Mississippi State’s Charles Cross and even Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning could be in the running for that sixth overall slot.
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Although the Panthers are more inclined to draft offense in the first round, the franchise pillar GM Scott Fitterer alluded to may have been on the field this weekend.
The Carolina Panthers seem much more inclined to end up using their first-round pick on one of the prospects we saw on Thursday or Friday. But as general manager Scott Fitterer stated in Indianapolis, he won’t pass up a franchise-type player—regardless of need.
So, did a franchise-type player take the field at the combine this weekend? Oh, you bet.
With defensive linemen, linebackers and cornerbacks now having hit the turf, let’s take a look at how each possible sixth overall selection did in their showings from Saturday and Sunday.
The Panthers may have themselves a few options at OL with the draft’s sixth overall pick—all of which were present for Friday’s combine proceedings.
The offensive linemen and running backs of the 2022 NFL draft class took the combine field in Indianapolis on Friday. And for the Carolina Panthers, at least in pertinence to their first-round pick, the focus had to be on the former group.
Here’s how the day’s possible contenders for that sixth overall selection showed out at Lucas Oil Stadium to kick off the weekend.
