Throughout the offseason, the Panthers have been linked to either drafting an offensive tackle or a quarterback. Carolina’s draft position is intriguing as they hold the sixth overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft and then, barring any trades, won’t make another selection until the 137th pick at the end of the fourth round.
While the options are plentiful in this year’s Draft, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reports that other teams in the league are convinced that Carolina will select a quarterback this Thursday. Breer thinks the Panthers would prefer to trade down, exchanging their high pick for some draft capital to close the gap to their second pick, but points out that teams just don’t seem to be dying to trade up for any position or player this year.
Here are a few more rumors leading up to the Draft this Thursday, starting with a prospect out of Cedar Falls:
- Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning visited with the Titans this week, according to Matt Miller of ESPN. Tennessee has been rumored to be looking at addressing the offensive line this upcoming Thursday. The Titans return Ben Jones at center, Nate Davis at guard, Taylor Lewan at tackle, and brought in Jamarco Jones from Seattle to fill in at the other guard position. They also return backups in Dillon Radunz, Corey Levin, and Aaron Brewer. Radunz is probably who they hope will fill in opposite Lewan at tackle, but he failed to catch on in a rookie year that presented him with plenty of opportunities. Drafting Penning will either light a fire under Radunz and kick him into gear or provide the Titans with a secondary option to start at tackle.
- In the article linked above, Breer addressed the Commanders’ approach to their 11th overall pick and pointed out that Washington has diligently done their homework on the wide receivers in this year’s class. After star receiver Terry McLaurin, Washington’s top receivers were running backs J.D. McKissic and Antonio Gibson, followed by now free agent wide receiver Adam Humphries. Pairing another talented pass-catcher with McLaurin is a must if they want newly acquired quarterback Carson Wentz to succeed in DC. So who does Breer predict the Commanders will select to place opposite McLaurin: none other than McLaurin’s former Ohio State teammate, Chris Olave.
Panthers taking a QB in the first round would be a huge mistake. Draft OT and then trade up for Bailey Zappe in round 4.
Penning and Vrabel seem like compatible attitudes. I think that guy’s gonna be a penalty machine for at least a couple of seasons.
Still can’t believe Ron thinks Wentz is a starting QB. Did he miss the last 2 seasons?
I think Wentz is a serviceable starting QB, and in that division he might be good enough to win them a division crown. They’re going nowhere in the playoffs though, if they even make it. Wentz won’t carry a team, and there isn’t enough offensive talent around him to hide that.
It’s Washington, however- so shooting for the revenue from a home playoff loss may well be all ownership cares about. In that regard, I think they’ve given themselves a chance.
Just hope the Commanders get a pick that can contribute, last years pick ended up to be very little help overall. So many bad picks over the years and why this franchise has done basically nothing the last 30 years. Which brings us to ownership which has been an total embarrassment to DC…
Snyder should have moved the team to a different city when forced to make the name change. He would have left the team’s sorry legacy behind him, while also getting himself a bright new shiny stadium and a few years of goodwill from the new city/fan base.