Carolina Panthers Draft: Tiki Barber believes they will trade up in Round 1

Former NFL running back Tiki Barber recently broke down his predictions of the first five picks in the 2020 NFL Draft. He predicts the Carolina Panthers will trade up from the No. 7 overall pick.

Your guess is as good as anyone’s when it comes to what will transpire with the Carolina Panthers when they’re on the clock in the 2020 NFL Draft. By now, a plethora of mock drafts are all over the internet, scouts are creating tons of reports, and general managers across the NFL are buying extra cell phone chargers. In just a few weeks, things will get hectic in the pro football world until this year’s draft is officially in the books and ready to see what adventures await this upcoming season with the rookies.

At this point in time, the Panthers hold the No. 7 overall pick as there are many that feel trading down to acquire more picks is best and some are against trading up since they’re rebuilding. Former NFL running back Tiki Barber is all about the Panthers taking the best defensive lineman in this year’s draft and actually trading up to draft him.

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Barber is predicting that the Panthers will pull off a blockbuster trade with the Washington Redskins to swap picks. He believes the Panthers will do this to trade up to the No. 2 overall pick and draft defensive end Chase Young out of Ohio State. Take a look below for how he feels the top five picks of this year’s draft will go down:

Tiki Barber predicts the Carolina Panthers trading up to the No. 2 overall pick

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When it comes to predictions, everyone has them as it’s always good to respect people’s opinions on what could happen in this year’s draft. Whether you’re for or against such a move by general manager Marty Hurney, for all we know this could be the kind of move that helps speed things along as they rebuild.

There is no doubt that a player of Young’s caliber would be a huge addition to the Panthers’ defense that could make him a household name immediately upon arrival. Of course, such a move like this would guarantee the Panthers giving up draft capital both in this year’s draft and future drafts which is very risky.

If this does happen and the Panthers land Young, he can be a cornerstone impact player for years to come. If things don’t work out, the Panthers would have given up so much draft capital that it could easily add another few years to their current rebuild. What looks to be two to three years now could turn into five years from now if this doesn’t pan out.

A move like this has its pros and cons no matter how you look at it but needless to say, sometimes you have to take risks in order to produce results. Hopefully, it works out in the favor of fielding a winning team. If it doesn’t, this is the kind of move that can get a general manager and their entire team inevitably fired.

Overall, it’s interesting to see Barber’s thoughts on how the draft order could drastically change on Day 1. Huge moves like trading up will undoubtedly have a ripple effect across every team and change draft boards instantly. Who knows, maybe the Panthers are feeling risky and believe trading up is the only way to get a future franchise player on a defense that desperately needs it.