Early in the season, the Carolina Panthers were over-performing but then they came back down to earth. Still, they have shown signs under rookie head coach Matt Rhule, and there are reasons to believe he will get things corrected for them. With him looking to rebuild this roster, Rhule could look to add a new quarterback, or he might want to wait and see what Teddy Bridgewater can do once Christian McCaffrey is healthy and back in the backfield with him.
In this mock, they decide to stand pat under center and instead, they improve their defense with the selection of Patrick Surtain out of Alabama. Carolina is historically known as a defensive team and landing Surtain helps them get back to that, and in a pass-happy NFC South, he will be a welcome addition.
Matt Ryan could be on borrowed time with the Atlanta Falcons since they are bringing in a new coach. It won’t be easy to say goodbye to a player who is a stat machine but will be 36-years of age in 2021 and that might be a hard sell for a new coach — especially with the prospects of someone like Zach Wilson available.
Here, they grab Wilson as they decide to start building for the future. There will be a lot of changes in the coming years for the Dirty Birds, but they at least land a quarterback who can lead them for the next 10-plus seasons.