Carolina Panthers would be kings of NFC South if they got Deshaun Watson

If the Carolina Panthers were to land Deshaun Watson in a trade, they could run the NFC South for the next decade.

The Carolina Panthers look to be going all-in on trading for Deshaun Watson, who has requested a trade from the Texans after a rocky offseason.

Watson is going to be a very popular trade target for a lot of NFL teams and the Panthers have now thrown their hat into the ring as far as being interested.

Per the NFL.com report:

"NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday on NFL NOW that the Panthers will be “aggressive” in pursuit of the 25-year-old QB.“Don’t sleep on the Carolina Panthers,” Rapoport said. “They are a team that I’m told is going to be aggressive in potentially acquiring Deshaun Watson.”"

It’s not shocking that Carolina would pursue Watson. They parted ways with Cam Newton last offseason after injuries derailed his production and while Teddy Bridgewater was fine in year one as a Panther, he’s not the future in Carolina.

Watson, however, would be the future of the Panthers and he’d give them a bright future. Newton spent nine years with the Panthers, who spent the No. 1 pick on him in 2011 and led them to one Super Bowl during that time. Watson would be able to really take this team to that level again and he’d be able to do so for quite some time.

The Carolina Panthers could become relevant again with the acquisition of Deshaun Watson.

While the NFC South has belonged to the Saints the past four years, that won’t be the case now that Drew Brees is likely hanging up the cleats. The Buccaneers would probably be the favorites to win it in 2021 assuming Tom Brady returns, but if Watson came to Carolina, that would change that narrative for sure.

Carolina might have only finished the year with a 5-11 record, but they showed potential under first-year coach Matt Rhule. They took the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs to the wire and put up fights against tough opponents. They looked better than a five-win team.

With a healthy Christian McCaffrey coming back, Robby Anderson and D.J. Moore at wide receiver, and Jeremy Chinn leading the way on defense, the Panthers would become a really dangerous team. They wouldn’t just be the favorites to take over the NFC South, but they’d be the favorites to win the NFC and make it to a Super Bowl.

The Saints are still going to be decent even without Brees, but they have major salary cap problems and we’ve seen that when push comes to shove, they can’t win in the playoffs. The Falcons are in rebuild mode and while the Buccaneers are in the Super Bowl this season, once Brady leaves, they’re back to where they were before he signed with them.

That opens the door for the Panthers to dominate the division for the next decade. Even with Newton in town, the Panthers didn’t own the NFC South like they were expected to. Watson would give them the edge over the other three teams though and that’s why Carolina should definitely explore this trade.

As far as a trade would go, the Panthers hold the No. 8 pick in the draft and that’d have to be tempting for the Texans, who have no first or second-round picks. They could acquire the Panthers’ No. 8 selection and also Bridgewater as well, who wouldn’t do any good for Carolina if this trade were to go through.

It’d be a lot of fun to see Watson throwing to Anderson and Moore while also having an explosive running back like McCaffrey at his disposal. The Panthers would go from a rebuilding team to the surefire NFC South winners if Watson joined them.