3 pros and cons to the Carolina Panthers drafting Caleb Farley

Caleb Farley’s injury history

It’s hard to pick holes in Caleb Farley’s game, which is nothing short of outstanding. However, the recent injury news surrounding the prospect is hard to ignore and will be worth keeping a close eye on leading up to the all-important draft weekend.

Farley announced he would not be taking part at Virginia Tech’s pro day after deciding to undergo a microdiscectomy procedure on his back. This isn’t expected to keep him out of training camp for whatever team he ends up being drafted by. But considering how problematic back problems can be to players at the position, it will warrant further investigation from the Carolina Panthers if they identify him as a prospect of interest.

Pro Football Network’s chief NFL analyst Trey Wingo recently discussed the topic, claiming there was no such thing as minor back surgery and it is a major cause for concern for teams, especially considering how high Farley is expected to go.

"“There is no such thing in my opinion as minor back surgery. I have a friend of mine, Mark Schlereth, who played for a bunch of years in the NFL. He had 29 surgeries, 16 on one knee, he had one back surgery. He always told me, ‘I would trade 16 more knee surgeries for one back surgery’.”"

Couple this with a non-contact ACL tear in 2017, missing the final two games of 2019 with back spasms, and opting-out of the 2020 campaign due to COVID-19 health concerns, and it’s not hard to see why this might become a problem.

Farley is confident in his ability to make a difference from the word go. But it’s going to take a significant leap of faith from the Panthers with so many other options available.