With The First Pick
Fansided

Examining Panthers new future in Carolina

By Brandon Coyle

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 25: Head coach Matt Rhule fo the Carolina Panthers speaks to the media at the Indiana Convention Center on February 25, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) *** Local Capture *** Matt Rhule
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 25: Head coach Matt Rhule fo the Carolina Panthers speaks to the media at the Indiana Convention Center on February 25, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) *** Local Capture *** Matt Rhule /
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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 29: Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the New Orleans Saints after their game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 29: Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the New Orleans Saints after their game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /

In need of a new face of franchise

There isn’t much hype in the upcoming season for the Panthers. A young team with a new coaching staff will have its struggles. Rhule’s tenures at Temple and Baylor showed a rough first season before turning it around. But with a lousy season comes a high-value draft pick.

Early in the 2021 draft process, some players have already put themselves ahead of the pack and shown to be worthy of a top pick. If the Panthers do struggle this season, they could warrant a top 5 pick. With no franchise QB on the roster, they should be targeting the dynamic passers at the top of the draft.

Depending on how the order falls, the Panthers will be in the running for either Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, or North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance. All elite quarterback prospects that will be talked about for the next 10 months.

Each of these three prospects has earned spots in my top 5 players in the upcoming class. This could be a huge slam dunk for the Panthers after just moving on from Cam Newton to select their next franchise guy. They could take a flyer on a guy like Louisville’s Micale Cunningham as well, who may be a riser this season.

Following their first pick, on day two there are a couple of guys at positions of need that will be great additions for the Panthers. After quarterback, their most prominent area of need has to be cornerback. On the roster currently they have Donte Jackson, Eli Apple, Troy Pride Jr., and Corn Elder.

None of these guys have shown promise of being a true number one, lockdown corner. Jackson has shown flashes of being a starting cornerback but needs to be more consistent. Apple and Elder haven’t been anything more than depth guys. Pride has some promise being a rookie, but his ceiling is CB2/3.

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