3 ways the Panthers draft could get impacted by the Falcons at No. 4

Carolina Panthers trade-up to No. 4

Okay, this seems pretty bizarre, but hear me out.

It’s possible that Matt Rhule and company have some tricks up their sleeve for this year’s draft, and they might do one of the following.

• Trade picks with the Atlanta Falcons directly.
• Trade picks with another team, while Atlanta does the same and ends up with pick No. 8.

The first of these options would be an absolute shock but would reveal that the Carolina Panthers’ desperation to acquire a promising rookie quarterback this year never really left. Perhaps every move made by the organization over the last few weeks leading up to the draft was a plan to throw people off before making a big splash in the first round.

Or perhaps an in-the-moment spur of emotion will flood over team owner David Tepper and cause a potential deal with Atlanta to happen.

Either way, trading with the Falcons could technically happen and it would lead to the Panthers drafting either Justin Fields or Trey Lance at No. 4, which would be for a king’s ransom considering the two are divisional rivals.

Alternatively, the Panthers could trade down (or up still) with a different team, chasing after a particular player while potentially acquiring more draft picks in the process. This leaves the door open for Carolina’s trade partner to then move the No. 8 selection to the Falcons for an even higher pick.

Then, the Falcons would get to decide what happens at pick No. 8 while Carolina selects a worthwhile prospect elsewhere in the first round.

Regardless of how it goes down, this scenario seems unlikely to happen. That being said, events such as this have unfolded in drafts before, and sometimes the craziest predictions end up being the most accurate.