Which direction should the Carolina Panthers go with their selections in the 2022 NFL Draft as the all-important selection process draws closer?
Business is officially picking up as the 2022 NFL Draft is just a few weeks away from commencing. At this point, teams are finishing up their trips for pro days and are now in the process of top-30 visits. Front offices across the league are also beginning to finalize their big board and beginning mock drafts of their own to prepare themselves for any scenario that may occur on the big night.
The Carolina Panthers are one of those teams going through their draft process, as we speak. This organization is in a tough spot from top to bottom with blunders from ownership all the way down to the coaching staff, including head coach Matt Rhule.
Rhule is on the hot seat this offseason and will be on that same seat throughout the 2022 campaign. His inability to secure a franchise quarterback has been one of his main downfalls on top of the continuous mistakes he has made as a head coach.
However, the front office has been stable with general manager Scott Fitterer. This offseason has been a very busy one for the second-year general manager, who joined the organization last year following a hugely successful spell with the Seattle Seahawks.
One of the biggest moves this offseason for the Panthers was the extension of star wide receiver D.J. Moore, whose contract could look vastly cheap in a couple of seasons.
The Panthers enter the NFL Draft with questions surrounding their potential plans in the first round. Some are convinced that a quarterback will be selected at No. 6 overall while others argue the team should draft the best available, an elite offensive tackle, or trade back in the first round to acquire more selections.
Carolina has only one selection in the first 130 picks of this year’s draft due to trades for cornerback C.J. Henderson and quarterback Sam Darnold. This makes things even more difficult to predict what the team is going to do.
Using The Draft Network’s simulator, we take a look at a scenario where the Panthers take the best player available in a full seven-round mock draft.