4 boom-or-bust prospects the Panthers might gamble on in 2021

Caleb Farley – CB (Virginia Tech)

There is an incredible amount of upside where Caleb Farley is concerned. This also fills a significant need for the Carolina Panthers as they look for a long-term cornerback option to slot opposite Donte Jackson. But some obvious red flags regarding the Virginia Tech standout are evident.

This has nothing to do with his production on the field. Farley made the transition to corner seamlessly to emerge as one of the draft’s hottest commodities this year, with the scope for further improvement highly likely once he gains more experience at the next level.

What might put some teams off is Farley’s injury problems. The prospect didn’t work out at his pro day after deciding to undergo surgery on his back, which might be minor but there is absolutely no such thing where this part of the body is concerned.

Couple this with a torn ACL earlier in his career and missing two games in 2019 with back spasms, and it’s not hard to see why there could be some complications. Farley is a candidate to be the first corner taken later this month, but any organization that is taking this sort of risk will want full medical evaluations to check out first.

This is why Farley comes with boom-or-bust potential. If the player continues to suffer from back difficulties during his initial transition, it will make things very difficult to make the impact projected.