Panthers are becoming more open to drafting a QB after watching Willis and Pickett
.JPG "Liberty’s Malik Willis is one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s NFL draft and has the Carolina Panthers’ attention.")
There were a lot of players last week that caught the eyes of scouts and coaching staffs around the NFL.
But if there was one player who could find his way moving up the draft boards at the combine, it’s quarterback Malik Willis. That’s not to say the Panthers will draft him, but he’s certainly on their radar.
The general consensus among observers at his throwing session was that the former Liberty quarterback was better than anticipated, with one source telling The Observer that he had an arm like Russell Wilson.
There was also a video of him that surfaced showing him giving what appeared to be food to someone on the street in downtown Indianapolis.
While the Panthers’ first priority remains to fix its offensive line, don’t be surprised if they take one of the top quarterbacks in April’s draft.
The narrative surrounding this quarterback class is that it’s weak compared to others.
But the Panthers’ staff isn’t buying it.
“History says that there will probably be a quarterback that comes out here that will be a franchise quarterback,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule told reporters last Wednesday. “Obviously, we pick six, so we have a lot of options.”
Quarterback remains one of Carolina’s two biggest needs this offseason.
Pitt’s Kenny Pickett is also an intriguing option given he once committed to Temple when Rhule was head coach there. And though a lot was made about his hand size — 8 1/2 inches, which is smaller than any quarterback in the NFL — teams didn’t seem to be as preoccupied about it as the media was. Some scouts compared his potential to Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
The Panthers spent the week interviewing the quarterbacks, as well as other players they hope to draft, in a speed dating-like format. They’d call out a player and spent 10-15 minutes with them, then move on to the next.
Ideally, the Panthers would have liked for their gamble on Sam Darnold to pay off. They invested three draft picks, including a second- and fourth-round pick in 2022, on Darnold. He’s going to make $18.9 million in 2022 after the Panthers picked up the fifth-year option on his contract last year.
But it hasn’t worked out, and Rhule and Carolina general manager Scott Fitterer were both on record saying that they would be aggressive in their pursuit of a quarterback.
“It’s really an important decision for us,” Fitterer said. “Do we go the free-agent route, do we go through the draft? We’re fairly far along on the quarterback evaluation on the college class. We’ve gone through it from a free agent standpoint. We’ll look at all other options that are out there.
“But that’s definitely a priority for us — that as well as the offensive line.”
Most draft experts and scouts say Evan Neal, Ikem Ekwonu and Charles Cross are the top three offensive tackles in this draft. All three are expected to be Day 1 starters.
And if one of those guys is on the board, the Panthers will most likely take him.
But the Panthers are also starting to get comfortable with the idea of sliding Brady Christensen to left tackle, signing a guard or two in free agency and drafting a quarterback at No. 6. Christensen would start at left tackle, Michael Jordan would start or backup at left guard, Pat Elflein would start at center, a new right guard and Taylor Moton would start at right tackle.
Christensen, who has started at multiple spots on the offensive line, including at left tackle in the team’s final three games, improved as the year went on.
The Panthers will also look at trading back if they can get multiple picks in return. In that case, former Nevada quarterback Carson Strong would be an option later in the first round, a source told The Observer.
Everyone knows that the Panthers won’t be able to turn things around until they get both the offensive line and quarterback fixed, but they are tempering their expectations when it comes to who they can acquire.
Deshaun Watson’s legal situation has not yet been resolved. And most observers believe Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson will stay put in Green Bay and Seattle, respectively.
Also, while there were reports that the Panthers inquired about Cousins in Minnesota, two sources said that call never occurred. The coaching staff and front office were actually in a meeting when they heard the news and laughed it off.
Cousins’ salary cap number is $45 million in 2022, and the Panthers are in no position to pay that. Given their cap space and Darnold’s salary, the Panthers will need an option that won’t cost as much.
Unless the Panthers were to trade for a veteran quarterback with a lower salary or sign a veteran in free agency, drafting a quarterback and using what they have on the offensive line is looking like their best option.
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Panthers are becoming more open to drafting a QB after watching Willis and Pickett."
