3 possible Carolina Panthers trade targets from the New York Jets
By Dean Jones
Folorunso Fatukasi – DT
The Carolina Panthers face a real predicament with Kawann Short next year. The Pro Bowl defensive tackle is set to count a whopping $20.83 million against the 2021 salary cap. And with financial resources set to come down considerably due to a lack of revenue next season. It appears unlikely that the organization is going to keep him around with this sort of salary.
There is the possibility that Short and the Panthers can come to some agreement regarding a restructure if he performs well at full health. But the need to find a long-term replacement will need to be considered sooner rather than later.
Folorunso Fatukasi showed tremendous promise as a sophomore for the New York Jets in 2019. He is the heir apparent to current starting option Steve McLendon and there is even a chance the third-year pro surpasses him on the depth chart as the season progresses.
Fatukasi is an imposing figure on the line of scrimmage who got into the backfield at will last season. This resulted in the former Connecticut standout logging 27 combined tackles, 14 solo tackles, one sack, seven tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, and one pass deflection in 2019.
This earned the lineman an eye-catching 81.6 grade from Pro Football Focus. Fatukasi will take a tremendous amount of confidence from this heading into the penultimate year of his rookie deal. And putting him alongside No. 7 overall pick Derrick Brown has limitless potential in Carolina.