Panthers 2021 mock draft: Trading up for a franchise QB

1 of 5

Trey Lance, 2021 NFL mock draft, Panthers

Carolina Panthers trade up for Trey Lance in this 2021 NFL mock draft (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /

The Carolina Panthers, led by GM Scott Fitterer and head coach Matt Rhule, have some big decisions to make in the coming weeks.

The Panthers invested every single one of their 2020 NFL Draft selections on the defensive side of the ball in the first year of the Matt Rhule era, and there is no question that Rhule’s stamp is all over this Carolina roster.

With rumors floating around that the Panthers would do just about anything to get Deshaun Watson should he become available, what lengths might they be willing to go to if trading for Watson is not an option or doesn’t come to pass?

There is no doubt they are one of everyone’s favorite teams to project a trade-up scenario in the 2021 NFL Draft and until their QB situation is resolved, that buzz isn’t going anywhere.

The Panthers said goodbye to one of their top offensive weapons in wide receiver Curtis Samuel, but they have brought in a few key players through free agency as well:

LB Haason Reddick
LB Denzel Perryman
TE Dan Arnold
OL Pat Elflein
OL Cameron Erving
WR David Moore
CB Rashaan Melvin

In case you couldn’t see it coming from a mile away, we called the Haason Reddick-to-Panthers match before free agency began.

Now, the focus shifts squarely on the quarterback position, and this mock draft scenario will reflect that with a trade-up scenario. It is impossible to know exactly what is going to happen in the NFL Draft, but it seems more likely than not that if a team like the Panthers (or any team picking outside of the top four) wants a quarterback, they will have to move up to get them.

Let’s look through a mock draft scenario with the Panthers trading a significant haul (the 39th pick and a future 1st-round pick) to move up to the third overall pick with the Dolphins.

Home/Mock Drafts