4 prospects the Panthers could draft at No. 6 not named Evan Neal

Kenny Pickett – QB (Pittsburgh)

While the most unlikely pick of the four, don’t rule this one out.

Scott Fitterer in his postseason press conference spoke glowingly of Kenny Pickett, who has had an excellent year up in Pittsburgh. However, it’s clear to see from his previous campaigns in Pennsylvania that the quarterback struggled.

Before this season where the New Jersey native exploded for 42 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, Pickett hadn’t thrown for more than 13 scores in a season. With the merry-go-round, we’ve seen at quarterback so far during Matt Rhule’s tenure with the Carolina Panthers, the chances of him drafting a player at this position after seemingly hitching his wagon to the Sam Darnold train seems low.

There’s also the real prospect that Rhule has at most 17 games in 2022 to save his job and would probably not be all that willing to put his trust in a rookie to turn things around. Even though the chances are Pickett would be an improvement on current starter Darnold.

If the Panthers were to draft a quarterback in the upcoming draft, Liberty signal-caller Malik Willis is another name to potentially consider. While a lot has been made on the low quality of the opposition he has faced in college, his raw talent is something that shouldn’t be ignored.

If given the opportunity to sit behind a competent veteran for a year or two before taking over the starting role in 2023 or 2024, either might succeed in Carolina. However, with the pressure Rhule is under, he doesn’t have the same luxury as we’ve seen with Trey Lance on the San Francisco 49ers.