Power ranking the Panthers’ Day 3 picks during the 2021 NFL Draft

We took a look at the selections from a busy Day 3 for the Carolina Panthers and power-ranked them in terms of quality and potential impact.

What a weekend it turned out to be for the Carolina Panthers. They ended an eventful 2021 NFL Draft period with 11 selections that were used wisely, with general manager Scott Fitterer even managing to get back the second-rounder he is giving up to the New York Jets next year as part of the Sam Darnold trade.

Fitterer displayed the sort of draft management that has been missing with the Panthers for some time. Obviously, it all depends on how these young prospects perform on the field. But judging by their initial pre-draft projections, there could be some high-impact players to assist Carolina in their quest for postseason football once again.

A clear structure and plan are clearly in place in Carolina. Athleticism and analytics are the order of the day – which is something team owner David Tepper wanted as part of his vision for the franchise – so if even half of the 2021 class can become solid NFL starters it will be seen as a success.

Without further ado, here are our power rankings for the Panthers’ selections on Day 3 of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Number 7

Thomas Fletcher – Carolina Panthers LS

• Round No. 6 – No. 222 overall

This was probably the biggest surprise of the weekend not only to fans but the player himself judging by his reaction when Matt Rhule gave him a call. Thomas Fletcher assumed the head coach was phoning with an undrafted free-agent offer before finding out he was being drafted in the sixth round, which brought about a fantastic response from the Alabama product.

Fletcher will come in and compete with Carolina’s longest-serving player J.J. Jansen for the starting long-snapper job in training camp. There is no guaranteed money on the veteran’s deal, so this selection might end up resulting in a changing of the guard.