Panthers full 7-round NFL mock draft if Cam Newton stays in 2022

John Michael Schmitz – C (Minnesota)

The Carolina Panthers were dealt a blow when Matt Paradis suffered a torn ACL on the second play from scrimmage in Week 9 against the New England Patriots. This leaves the center’s future up in the air as he’s out of contract next spring, even though he’ll still be costing the team more than $9 million in dead-cap following a restructure this offseason.

Paradis has been solid if not spectacular this season. But this is probably a good time for the Panthers to go in a different direction and the best way to gain stability on the offensive line is to build through the draft.

If the Panthers opt to go down this avenue, then John Michael Schmitz is an option to consider. The Minnesota lineman is a progressive talent that seems to be getting better all the time, which is the sort of ceiling NFL scouts love in any college recruit.

Schmitz is a solid communicator at the line of scrimmage and can move people efficiently. Asking a first-year player to come in and immediately start at the position is a tough task unless they are truly elite, so the Panthers could also find a plug-and-play veteran in free agency until the current Golden Gopher is ready.

As far as mid-to-late round selections go, it’s always something of a crapshoot. But Schmitz does have the intangibles that Carolina looked for heavily at this stage of the 2021 draft.