ClutchPoints
The silver lining for the awful 2024 season came in improvement from Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. Now the team must decide how to approach the 2025 NFL Draft. And the Panthers general manager revealed his stance on a potential trade for the No. 8 overall pick, according to a post on X by Ian Rapoport.
#Panthers GM Dan Morgan said his phone didn’t go nuts after the news broke on Derek Carr’s shoulder injury… despite holding the No. 8 pick, right before the #Saints. But he sounds like a guy open to offers.
“We’ll be waiting if somebody wants to come up.”
The injury news about Carr puts the Panthers in a strong position as the New Orleans Saints are widely believed to be in the market for a quarterback with the No. 9 selection.
One thing the Panthers must consider is whether two birds in the bush are better than one in the hand. If there’s a potential star player available at No. 8, should they trade the pick and hope that more is better?
One player who should be available is potential game-changing wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan out of Arizona. And that would be a wise selection, according to panthers.com.
“I would go with the offensive player,” Pro Football Focus lead analyst Tregor Sikkema said. “Because when I look at this wide receiver and just overall receiving group — if you look at the receivers, it’s solid. If you throw Tetairoa McMillian in there, what an incredible compliment I think he is to the wide receivers they already have (in Carolina). And it allows (head coach) Dave Canales to really orchestrate the offense in a lot of ways that they want.”
McMillian posted back-to-back seasons of 1,300-plus yards and 18 touchdowns over that time as well. He’s tall at 6-foot-5 and weighs 212 pounds. The key to his NFL success could be his ability to win 50-50 balls. He could devastate good coverage by simply winning jump balls.
Sikemma acknowledged the Panthers’ desperate need on the defensive side of the ball. But McMillan is too good to pass up.
“You want to make sure that even though you want the defensive side of the ball to be better, what you did in free agency allows you the flexibility to make this pick,” explained Sikkema. “And it’s still about giving Bryce Young exactly what he needs to be the caliber quarterback that he can be.”
Carolina scored well down the stretch, hitting 30 points or better twice in their last three games. But the playmakers simply aren’t there at the wide receiver position. Aging Adam Thielen currently headlines a weak group.
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