2021 NFL Mock Draft: 49ers land Mac Jones, Kyle Pitts falls to Giants

Last year, the Carolina Panthers decided it was time to move on from Cam Newton as they released him and then signed Teddy Bridgewater in his place. Bridgewater, who had just revived his career with the New Orleans Saints the prior year, earned a three-year deal worth north of $60 million.

Now one year later, it seemed as though they were going to go after a quarterback in this class but when rumored trade attempts to get higher in the draft failed, they made a move for Sam Darnold. Now adding Darnold is a bit of a gamble. He was the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 but struggled mightily.

However, he was also being coached by Adam Gase who is awful. So, if Darnold has better coaching, this could be a good move for Carolina.

Now, they just have to keep building up the rest of the roster and with this pick, they get themselves a stud linebacker in Micah Parsons. At pick No, 8, Parsons is not only the best player on the board, but he’s also incredibly versatile.

While with Penn State, he played outside linebacker and inside linebacker and even spent time at defensive end in his career. With Carolina, he can help them return to dominance on that side of the ball, which could take some of the pressure off of Darnold and that offense.