The Panthers will use next week to gather intel on the top quarterbacks from this draft class. In addition to their Malik Willis meeting, the Panthers will visit with Kenny Pickett and use four of their other top-30 prospect visits on QBs.
Pickett will join Matt Corral (Ole Miss), Sam Howell (North Carolina), Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati) and Bailey Zappe (Western Kentucky) on “30” visits, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. These meetings will take place between Monday and Wednesday of next week in Charlotte.
Missing out on Deshaun Watson, Carolina has veteran options still. But the team has not expressed interest in Jimmy Garoppolo and is not believed to want Baker Mayfield. The team’s interest for a veteran could change, but Sam Darnold is under contract on an $18.9MM fifth-year option. An additional veteran would create an expensive QB room, and second-year GM Scott Fitterer discussed the benefits of having a rookie-deal quarterback on the payroll recently.
While Pickett — a former Matt Rhule Temple recruit who decommitted after Rhule’s Baylor departure — would require Carolina’s first-round pick, the rest of this crop is not on the top-10 radar. But the Panthers traded away their second- and third-round picks last year — in deals for Darnold and C.J. Henderson. This limits the team’s options, barring a trade-down effort in Round 1. As for the prospect of Pickett at No. 6, the Panthers were linked to the Pittsburgh passer after the Senior Bowl.
Scouts Inc. ranks Corral and Ridder as the Nos. 34 and 36 overall prospects, respectively, while slotting Howell 50th. Zappe, who played in a pass-crazed system in his only Division I season and broke Joe Burrow‘s touchdown pass record by compiling 62 for the Hilltoppers, profiles as a Day 3 prospect, ranking 139th.
Rhule is playing for his job. But the panthers need to not reach for a qb. Grab an offensive lineman and wait until next year for a qb
Especially because which one of these guys would you expect to be good in year one even if they turn out well long term?
I think Kenny P ends up there but 2nd round
this is looking like the EJ Manual draft, but EJ Manuals name is Malik Willis
The issue with this thinking (which I agree with, I think he will be there too) is that after number 6 overall, the panthers don’t have a pick until number 108.
This is another reason to not reach for a qb if you only have one pick in the top 100.
The difference is, nobody thought EJ was a first round pick. At least a few of these guys have first round grades.
That’s true—Manuel was acknowledged as a striking reach at the time. But Willis, Pickett, and Corral are typically graded around where Geno Smith was graded in 2013 (or lower), which . . .
They’ll likely have offers to trade back in the first round and pick up a 2nd or 3rd rounder, but the question is how far back do they trade ?
If Pickett is the target, bc he can play right away, does he get past Washington ?
Personally, I like Desmond Ridder, he’s a leader, a dual threat, and what he lacks in arm power, he makes up for with game management.
They could trade back to the end of the first, but they risk losing him to a team like Pittsburgh at 20 if Tomlin likes him too.