ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. shares what he thinks the Panthers will do in the NFL draft
The Carolina Panthers have a lot options they can choose from with the No. 8 pick in the 2021 NFL draft. But ESPN’s senior draft analyst, Mel Kiper Jr., is certain the Panthers would select a quarterback if they aren’t able to get Houston’s Deshaun Watson in a trade.
“They are either going to move up to get Zach Wilson (or) Justin Fields, (or) Mac Jones if they sit at eight, Trey Lance,” Kiper said in conference call with reporters Monday. “They are going to get somebody of those four if they don’t get Deshaun Watson.”
After the 2020 season, Panthers’ coach Matt Rhule said that Teddy Bridgewater needed to have a great offseason, and would not commit to naming him the starter for 2021.
Bridgewater is entering the second year of a three-year contract and isn’t viewed as the long-term answer in Carolina.
Kiper had the Panthers selecting Jones at No. 8 in his latest mock draft, and Lance going at No. 9. He has five quarterbacks going in the first nine picks.
Jones, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist and won a national championship at Alabama, played for the Panthers’ coaching staff at the Senior Bowl in February. Some draft experts have said picking Jones at No. 8 would be a reach. His weaknesses include his lack of mobility and average arm strength.
But Kiper said he doesn’t believe picking Jones at No. 8 would be a reach.
“It all depends upon who they like,” Kiper said of the Panthers. “Who does their organization, who do their scouts, their personnel people feel is the quarterback at that point? And whoever is on the board because some of those guys would be gone. ... And No. 2, do you want to move up from eight to get the guy you really want.”
He listed the New York Jets, who have the second overall pick, as a possible trade partner.
“That’s the thing that Carolina has to figure out,” Kiper said. “Do they want to go up from eight, or do they want to sit at eight and wait for a quarterback to fall in their lap.”
The draft begins on April 29.
Kiper has Fields as the seventh-best prospect in the draft, and the second-best quarterback behind Lawrence. He has Wilson as the eighth-best prospect, Jones as the 12th-best, and Lance as the 13th-best prospect.
However, he added that whoever the Panthers have at quarterback won’t have success until they can figure out their offensive line situation. Four of the Panthers’ five starters at offensive line are free agents, and at times they struggled to protect Bridgewater.
Kiper pointed to Watson’s situation in Houston. Only the Eagles allowed more sacks in 2020 than the Texans, and the Texans finished 4-12.
“I don’t think they are going to take another position,” Kiper said of the Panthers, “but if they did go in another route, you look at an offensive lineman at that point. Knowing that Penei Sewell could be gone, it could be Rashawn Slater at Northwestern. He would be a versatile offensive lineman. Played, left tackle, right tackle, guard.
“But I think if you draft him in the top 10, you’re looking at him as a tackle.”
