How much pressure is on the Panthers during the 2021 NFL Draft?

How much pressure is on the Carolina Panthers as they get set to embark on a hugely important 2021 NFL Draft in the coming days?

Fans get tired of cheering losing football pretty quickly. The Carolina Panthers have given their loyal support plenty of this over the last three seasons and although they did show signs of life under new head coach Matt Rhule in 2020, it won’t take long for the natives to get restless if things continue on this trend next time around.

Things could have been different had the Panthers not lost eight games by one score last season. They were highly competitive against some legitimate Super Bowl contenders despite not having star running back Christian McCaffrey for 13 games and there is plenty of talent across the roster who should all improve in the coming weeks and months.

Considering how much Carolina and most other teams across the league were up against it financially this offseason, those in power deserve a tremendous amount of credit for recruiting some top talent on team-friendly deals. This has primarily focused on the defensive side of the ball, so providing the team drafts well throughout a crucial three days, it could see Rhule’s men make a surprising playoff push.

The pressure is most definitely on to get their decisions right. Carolina got the majority of their decisions right in 2020 if the rookie performances of Derrick Brown, Jeremy Chinn, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Bravvion Roy are any indication. But what comes next is going to be equally as important.

Carolina Panthers are in a good spot ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Trading for quarterback Sam Darnold from the New York Jets gives the Panthers a lot more options early in the draft, even though it cost them three selections over the next two years.

They haven’t ruled out the prospect of taking someone like Justin Fields if he falls into their laps. But the smart money would be on the organization putting their recent acquisition in the best possible position to make a better go of things in a different environment.

Whether Darnold is going to work out or not remains to be seen.

Carolina seems to think a more stable environment with more talent in the passing game and McCaffrey alongside him in the backfield will help. So if they can bulk this up with some plug-and-play offensive linemen, a tight end weapon, and perhaps another wide receiver to replace Curtis Samuel after he bolted for the Washington Football Team, then it will simply come down to whether to not the signal-caller can take them to places Teddy Bridgewater could not.

The next few days are also another chance for general manager Scott Fitterer to make his presence felt. To say he’s made a solid start after earning the role would be something of an understatement. But his reputation of draft success is going to be put to the biggest of tests as the primary decision-maker alongside Rhule.

Team owner David Tepper has been a patient man since buying the Panthers. He’s spent a large amount of his vast wealth not only buying the organization from Jerry Richardson but also putting some ambitious plans in place to revolutionize the franchise away from the gridiron.

However, he’ll want to see some return on his investment sooner rather than later. This only adds to the pressure on Carolina to get their draft spot on despite the much-changed evaluation process thanks to COVID-19 health concerns.

This is what it’s all about. Some exciting players are already in place and big things could be in Carolina’s future with a home-run draft in 2021.