Carolina Panthers: Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State
It’s kind of hard to tell what Matt Rhule is doing with the Carolina Panthers. He seemed sold enough on Teddy Bridgewater last year to give him a contract worth more than $20 million per season. Then when Bridgewater had to try and win without Christian McCaffrey — and without a great receiving corps — he seemed to put all the blame on the former Vikings first-round pick.
With them jumping to that conclusion, the Panthers traded a second-round pick (as well as a fourth and sixth) for Sam Darnold who was clearly on the outs in New York. Darnold, who was the No. 3 overall pick, had his share of struggles with the Jets and, like Bridgewater, not all of it was on him.
Still, the Panthers are banking on Darnold to be a major improvement over TBH20, but there’s no guarantee he will be. Of course, if they want him to finally reach his potential, they’re going to have to surround him with better talent — especially when it comes to red-zone targets.
That’s why the perfect fit for them would be Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth. Listed at 6-5 and 250 pounds, Freiermuth is a huge target and would be an upgrade at tight end for Carolina. And oftentimes, a big tight end is a young quarterback’s best friend.