4 players the Panthers could have drafted instead of Derrick Brown

Carolina Panthers could have drafted Patrick Queen

After the surprise retirement of potential Pro Football Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly at the end of the 2019 season, the Carolina Panthers were left with a gaping hole in the middle of the defense.

This would have been the perfect opportunity for the Panthers to draft a replacement for arguably the greatest player in franchise history. Instead, Matt Rhule brought in Tahir Whitehead, who gave us one of the worst seasons we’ve seen from a defender in Carolina.

Patrick Queen left LSU riding a high. Not only was he a national champion, but he secured defensive MVP for the game and was then drafted late in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens.

Another athletic linebacker who ran a 4.50-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine would have been potentially a good fit for a Phill Snow defense. At the culmination of his second season, Queen has 203 total tackles to his name and was named to the 2020 PFWA All-Rookie Team.

Queen struggled in his first season, missing 22 tackles, meaning the pressure was on. But in the latter stages of the 2021 campaign, he stepped up to be a key part of a stifling Ravens defense.

As we’ve seen with the drafting of Brandon Smith in 2022, the Panthers are high on fast athletic linebackers who could make plays. Queen may have been a perfect caveat for this based on what we’ve seen from the player so far – although this would have been considered a significant reach at the time whereas Derrick Brown was a sure-fire top-10 talent.