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Peter King picks Carolina Panthers to land Montez Sweat

By Brandon Scott

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 03: Defensive lineman Montez Sweat of Mississippi State runs the 40-yard dash during day four of the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 3, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 03: Defensive lineman Montez Sweat of Mississippi State runs the 40-yard dash during day four of the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 3, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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NBC Football analyst Peter King mocks Montez Sweat to the Carolina Panthers at No. 16

As the NFL Draft approaches, analysts and fans both continue attempting to predict what will happen when everyone’s officially on the clock Thursday night. Obviously, many different factors play into the decision making of each team, including what players are available when their number is called but mock drafts continue to seemingly all be different for the Carolina Panthers.

Losing seven of their final eight games in 2018, the Panthers had obvious holes to fill and that was before the roster turnover accrued during the offseason. Retirements, coupled with not re-signing a few veterans only added to the needs general manager Marty Hurney continues to address.

Defensive end, defensive tackle, safety and offensive tackle are all potential first-round targets for Carolina. Hurney could justify taking a top tier player from any of these four positions but such a wide spread of needs isn’t necessarily a good thing come draft time. Undoubtedly, a trade will occur at some point as the Panthers attempt to fill as many gaps as possible over the weekend.

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The most recent mock draft, from Peter King of NBC Sports and Football Morning in America, has Mississippi State defensive end Montez Sweat becoming the newest member of the Panthers. According to King, “with the retirement of Julius Peppers, Sweat would be a perfect addition to an edge-rush-needy team.”

Originally projected as one of the best defensive end prospects for this draft, the discovery of a heart condition during NFL Combine medical testing may affect his standing. However, if Hurney and the Panthers feel confident that Sweat can compete then, if available and healthy, he would be a welcome addition to the defensive line.

In two full seasons with the Bulldogs, Sweat tallied 101 total tackles, 30 for a loss and 22.5 sacks. Allowed to perform at the combine since the condition was discovered later, Sweat put on an impressive performance posting a 4.41 second, 40-yard dash and being compared to receivers during movement drills.

Carolina has taken risks before under similar circumstances, selecting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei back in 2013 after he was ruled ineligible to participate in the combine due to a heart issue. If available, Hurney would have a hard time passing on Sweat given his collegiate production and combine performances.

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Tune in to see what happens as the NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night (8:00pm EST) in Nashville, Tennessee.

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