Carolina Panthers Draft: 5 surprise players they could select in Round 1

4). Tight End Adam Trautman (Dayton)

It will be a weird sight to see this upcoming season without Greg Olsen starting at tight end. The Panthers, a team on the rebuild, are looking to get faster and younger across the roster with hopes of being competitive again in the future. Could Hurney pull something crazy and actually draft a new tight end with the No. 7 overall pick?

The current tight ends on the roster don’t exactly scream elite talent as they’re serviceable but not anything extraordinary. It would be quite the surprise if the Panthers use this high draft pick on a tight end considering that this year’s class isn’t all that great in the positional group.

Tight end Adam Trautman out of Dayton is considered the best tight end but will likely not be drafted until Day 2 of this year’s draft. It just wouldn’t make sense at all for the Panthers to reach so high for a tight end they can easily get in the middle rounds but who knows what could be going on in their draft war room.

Drafting a tight end here will undoubtedly cause fans to lose their minds and flood social media networks with rage like you wouldn’t believe. Hopefully, this won’t happen as it would just be completely uncalled for.

3). Running Back D’Andre Swift (Georgia)

The Panthers just made running back Christian McCaffrey the highest-paid running back in the NFL and rightfully so. He’s been nothing but legendary for the Panthers ever since he was drafted back in 2017. The only problem is, depth is a major concern behind him. If something unfortunate were to happen where he got injured, there goes a huge chunk of the overall offense.

A surprise move here by the Panthers would be to take the best available running back in D’Andre Swift out of Georgia. He’s got star player written all over him as he’s going to be an instant hit the moment he enters the pro scene.

It would be crazy to see a combination of both McCaffrey and Swift rotate out of the backfield to see them do what they do best. It’s an enticing idea considering that Swift could very well be available when the Panthers are on the clock but this likely won’t happen since they’ve locked up McCaffrey for the next five years.

Either way, this would be one heck of a surprise move by the Panthers to add another playmaker to bolster their offense big time. It would be a huge addition to complement McCaffrey so he’s not the only workhorse on the team that can deliver consistent results.