Carolina Panthers 2021 Draft: Projecting the top-32 big board
By Dean Jones
Which players could be sitting atop the draft board of the Carolina Panthers ahead of a crucial series of selections later this month?
The Carolina Panthers could improve their chances of making a postseason push in 2021 if they get their NFL Draft selections right. They benefitted enormously from a strong class last year – with the likes of Jeremy Chinn, Derrick Brown, and Yetur Gross-Matos making an instant impact – so if Matt Rhule and new general manager Scott Fitterer can have similar success this time around it is going to do wonders for their rebuild.
There doesn’t appear to be any clear indicator on what the Panthers are going to do at No. 8 overall. Trading for Sam Darnold from the New York Jets gives them more options. But even though Fitterer wants to be in a position to take the best player available, there are some clear and obvious needs that need to be addressed beforehand.
It isn’t the worst position to be in by any stretch of the imagination. Everything points to more in the way of wins for Carolina next season after some notable signings in free agency, so if they can hit some home runs with their next batch of college recruits, the sky is the limit.
With this in mind, we examined every top prospect coming out in 2021 for our final top-32 NFL Draft big board.
Carolina Panthers 2021 NFL Draft: Top-32 big board
Scouting Report. player. 879. Pick Analysis. QB. CLEMSON. TREVORLAWRENCE. 1
Trevor Lawrence – QB (Clemson)
Whether the Sports Illustrated article was damaging to Trevor Lawrence’s stock or not is a moot point. Players have interests outside of football these days – that’s just how it is – and if the Clemson quarterback lives up to his billing then he is going to completely change the fortunes of the Jacksonville Jaguars when they select him No. 1 overall.
Lawrence has been NFL-ready since his freshman year and has everything one looks for in a franchise signal-caller at the next level. There aren’t many in the way of can’t miss prospects during the draft. But this is as close as it gets.
It might be a bit of a culture shock for Lawrence on a struggling team after having things all his own way ever since high school. But it would take a brave man to pass him up at No. 1 overall.