The Carolina Panthers have a question at the quarterback position, and it’s whether they draft or trade for their future starter this off-season.
Sam Darnold joined the Carolina Panthers last season looking to shake off the struggles he had with the New York Jets, but the third overall pick in the 2018 Draft looked anything but a starting quarterback in 2021.
In 11 starts last season, the former USC Trojan guided his team to a poor 4-7 record while throwing for 2527 yards, nine touchdowns, and 13 interceptions – falling just shy of 60% accuracy on his throws for the year.
Carolina Panthers are desperate for a QB solution
The Panthers slumped to a 5-12 record overall, with the return of veteran Cam Newton doing virtually nothing to help the team as he went 0-5, was even less accurate (54.8%), and had just four touchdowns to five interceptions – with the most important position on the team arguably the biggest question mark heading into 2021.
There has been much talk around the Panthers and their search for the legitimate future at the position, with two primary avenues available to them in 2022 – trading for a veteran, or using a high pick on one of the few prospects entering the draft that could have starter potential.
Baker Mayfield and Jimmy Garoppolo are two existing NFL quarterbacks whose futures with their respective teams are unclear, with the former seeing the Cleveland Browns bring in Deshaun Watson while the latter could see Trey Lance take the helm in his second season.
It is difficult to imagine the Panthers making a deal for either player at this stage, however, due to the significant financial implications it would bring – namely with what the team did with Darnold.
The 26-year-old carries with him a cap hit of $18.858 million, all of which is fully guaranteed – which makes it virtually impossible for the team to part ways with him as they would suffer this full amount in dead cap.
Adding either of the two mentioned veterans brings with it hefty cap costs, and having them along with Darnold on the books would be ill-advised if the team has any hope of signing their upcoming draft picks and making further additions to bolster their overall roster.
Parting ways with Darnold and bringing either in would have the same impact. With both Mayfield and Garoppolo both in the final year of their respective deals, it would also only provide the Panthers with a short-term solution to the problem.
In terms of options in the draft, the most logical choices available to general manager Scott Fitterer with the sixth overall pick would be Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett or Mississippi’s Matt Corral.
Pickett put up big numbers last season with over 4300 passing yards, 42 touchdowns, and just interceptions – being named ACC Player of the Year before featuring in this year’s Senior Bowl.
Corral’s numbers are much smaller by comparison (3349 yards, 20 TDs, 5 INTs), but he guided his Ole Miss team to second in the SEC’s West Division – behind the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Both players could become NFL starters in the right system and with the right development and would be the most likely targets for the Carolina Panthers if they were to go this route when their name is called on Day One of the draft.
With both players likely needing some time to develop before taking the reins of an NFL offense on a full-time basis, this projects to be the most logical path for the Carolina Panthers to follow – with Darnold allowed to keep his starting role for one final year before the team walks away.
If the Panthers are content with this patient approach, then any consideration for a trade should be shelved and a genuine focus on taking their preferred prospect and developing them in a carefully planned manner should be the only option considered.