Trades galore and major early focus in Panthers 2022 NFL mock draft

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports) Kedon Slovis
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports) Kedon Slovis
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Carolina Panthers
(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) Scott Fitterer

Carolina Panthers trade back from No. 15

The first trade of our mock draft comes with the Dallas Cowboys, who gave up their third-round pick to move up three spots with the Carolina Panthers. This is the first Day 2 pick the team would receive after their recent trade activity, which could prove crucial to the ongoing and encouraging rebuild currently taking place under Matt Rhule and Scott Fitterer.

Much will depend on what sort of interest there is in any prospect at this particular juncture. The quarterback class isn’t expected to be that strong, so it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see less in the way of interest as a result.

However, getting a third-round pick seems like good business to drop back three spots. And this could be just the start.

Carolina Panthers trade back from No. 18

The second trade sees the Panthers get a second-round selection from the Detroit Lions. Not a bad return for dropping down 10 places to the bottom of the first round.

This is a solid foundation for the rest of the draft. And Fitterer is well known for finding gems as the draft progresses.

If you don’t think this scenario is realistic, then you might want to check what happened on Day 2 of the 2021 draft again.

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