ESPN analyst says Panthers are serious about Justin Fields at No. 8

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is a serious candidate for the Carolina Panthers if he falls to No. 8 overall.

The Carolina Panthers draft rumor mill has reached extraordinary levels with just two days to go until what promises to be a hugely important one for the franchise. This comes following the team’s decision to make a move to acquire Sam Darnold from the New York Jets, which means nobody outside of general manager Scott Fitterer, head coach Matt Rhule, and other trusted personnel know full-well what they are going to do with the No. 8 overall selection.

This has left plenty of room for speculation. Fitterer did a good job of fanning the flames during his recent presser, stating they are very open to trading back and could still take a promising signal-caller should the opportunity arise.

That would be a bombshell whichever way one looks at it. But it might have a lot more legs than originally thought according to a leading NFL Draft analyst.

Carolina Panthers are impressed with Justin Fields.

Speaking on the Ryen Russillo podcast, ESPN’s Todd McShay stated that Carolina loves Justin Fields and would have no problem taking him at No. 8 overall if he is still around. The analyst added that scouts and coaches within the organization have both been mightily impressed by what they’ve seen from the former Ohio State signal-caller during the assessment process.

Most are putting their comments of acquiring another prospect at the position to a smokescreen in pursuit of getting more draft capital to trade down. If they do pull the trigger on Fields if he falls into their laps, then what was the point in moving for Darnold in the first place?

Fields has been the subject of some real over-scrutiny during the evaluation process, especially considering the sort of production he put together for the Buckeyes. This is a prospect who completely outplayed consensus No. 1 overall selection Trevor Lawrence in the college football playoffs and has all the tools associated with a modern-day quarterback at the next level.

However, if there is one signal-caller who might fall to the Panthers, it might be Fields. This would be music to their ears whether they’re planning on taking him or not as it would be them in an incredibly strong position to get a bumper offer from another team looking to jump up and get him.

Unless the Panthers put Darnold in the best possible position to succeed with a franchise left tackle or another elite playmaker like Kyle Pitts, then the decision to give up three draft selections over the next two years will be for nothing. Drafting Fields would create a substantial amount of pressure on the former USC star as he looks to make a better go of things in a different environment, so they’d be setting him up to fail.

In truth, nobody knows what Carolina is going to do, which is the way Fitterer and Rhule want it at this late stage. Having everything on the table will make teams extremely nervous if they’ve targeted someone like Fields or Trey Lance, which could ensure they maximize value and get some substantial draft capital in return.

Only time will tell as to whether the Panthers will shock the world and take a quarterback. But thankfully, we don’t have much longer to wait.