Carolina Panthers 7-round mock draft after trading for Sam Darnold

The Carolina Panthers answered their quarterback problem trading for Sam Darnold, so what does that mean for their plans in the 2021 NFL Draft now?

Throughout the entire offseason, the expectation was that the Carolina Panthers would aggressively pursue an upgrade at quarterback. And it was assumed that Deshaun Watson would be their top target in hopes of bringing him back to the Carolinas. Amid the Texans quarterback’s legal troubles, though, the Panthers pivoted and ultimately landed on Sam Darnold.

Carolina sent a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft along with a second- and fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft to the Jets in exchange for the former No. 3 overall pick. Darnold was outright bad in New York but Matt Rhule and the Panthers brass is hoping that they will be able to unlock the talent he displayed while at USC and get his NFL career on track.

With Darnold coming in and as Teddy Bridgewater could stick around if he’s not traded, the Panthers’ draft plans have now changed in a big way. They can focus on areas outside of quarterback and try to build a roster to set Darnold up for success. And if he doesn’t work out, they will have a stronger infrastructure in place moving forward.

So let’s see what the Panthers can do now after the Sam Darnold trade as we run through a 7-round 2021 mock draft for Carolina.

7-round mock draft for the Carolina Panthers after the Sam Darnold trade

At the end of the 2019 season, Rashawn Slater really started to get on the radar for teams eyeing the 2021 NFL Draft after the Northwestern offensive tackle submitted one of the best performances of anyone in college against Chase Young along with a litany of other talented pass-rushers in the Big Ten.

Of course, that was the last we saw of Slater in the college ranks as he elected to opt-out of the 2020 season. But his offseason workouts and pro day results have only further solidified his status as a lock to go in the first half of the first round in this year’s draft. And he makes a ton of sense for the Panthers.

Carolina has a hole opposite of Taylor Moton, the right tackle they tagged this offseason and hope to re-sign to a long-term deal. Slater could fill that in a big way as an athletic mover on the edge who is also more than capable of asserting his physical will in power concepts. He also has possibly versatility to move inside if necessary.

Penei Sewell would obviously be ideal but he’ll likely be off the board when the Panthers come on the clock. Even still, Slater is one heck of a consolation prize as he has the potential to be a franchise left tackle protecting Darnold’s blindside right away as a rookie.