3 major overreactions following the Panthers trade for No. 1 pick

Carolina Panthers will get back to the Super Bowl in 3 years

Why not get crazy?

The Carolina Panthers have been missing a quarterback for half a decade now. With the imminent selection of a blue-chip prospect, they have a shot to be a contender within a few years.

Recent history has shown that young quarterbacks with good teams can contend. The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl in Patrick Mahomes’ third season, the Philadelphia Eagles made the dance in Jalen Hurts’ third campaign, the Los Angeles Rams did the same in Jared Goff’s third season, the Cincinnati Bengals in Joe Burrow’s second.

Can the Panthers make the Super Bowl within three seasons of drafting their quarterback? Absolutely – they have a lot of the recipes for success on the team. But should the immediate expectation be championship contention? No.

Give whoever Carolina drafts a chance to hit their bumps in the road and grow into the NFL before expecting deep playoff runs. Numerous former and current NFL quarterbacks did not make their first Super Bowl until later in their careers. And some of the top franchise guys have not reached that stage yet, despite their successes.

The Panthers will have all the time in the world to get back to the Super Bowl after they presumably select their top guy at quarterback. Expecting a deep run to the big game right away would be setting yourself up for disappointment, despite the players being capable of creating something special in the near future.