There have been several trades in the vicinity of where the Panthers are slated to pick. We look at the returns those trades got.
If you’re a fan of the Carolina Panthers and a user of the Internet, chances are you’ve voiced a preference for the Panthers to trade down and acquire more draft capital. It’s not unique to Panthers fans. Everyone wants their team to trade down because more picks means more fun. Each year, a handful of teams are able to find partners willing to move up in exchange for a piece of their draft cache. Let’s take a look at what trades have been made in recent years to give us an idea of what a potential return could look like should the Panthers find a willing trade partner.
2021
The Eagles traded picks 6 and 156 to the Dolphins for picks 12, 123, and a 2022 first (pick 15)
The Dolphins moved up to take Jaylen Waddle. The Eagles got their own wide receiver in Devonta Smith at number 10 after a series of other trades around the 12th pick. That pick ended up with the Cowboys, who took Micah Parsons. The Eagles would use the future first they got in another trade and ended up with Jordan Davis when the dust settled.
2021 was a heavy quarterback draft, so there was a lot of movement at the top that isn’t as likely to happen this year with Shedeur Sanders seemingly the only coveted quarterback after Cam Ward gets taken first overall by the Titans.
2022
Washington traded pick 11 to the Saints for picks 16, 98, and 120
The Vikings traded picks 12 and 46 to the Lions for picks 32, 34, and 66
The 2022 featured a ton of convoluted trades involving players. These two were more standard draft pick trades. Both saw teams move down to pick up extra picks a little bit later. Washington let the Saints get Chris Olave while they landed Jahan Dotson. Yuck. The Vikings moved way back and draft Lewis Cine, who got hurt early in his rookie season and never contributed. If they stayed put and took a safety, they likely end up with Kyle Hamilton.
2023
The Lions traded pick 6 and pick 81 to the Cardinals for picks 12, 34, and 168
The Lions moved back and used the two high picks they got in return to select Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta. The 81st pick they gave up turned into Tyjae Spears, who is fine, but the Lions definitely came out ahead by getting that extra pick at the top of the second round.
The Bears traded pick 9 to the Eagles for pick 10 and a 2024 fourth round pick
The Bears let the Eagles get Jalen Carter so they could take Darnell Wright and get a future fourth. It doesn’t look good in hindsight, but if you have equally ranked players left on the board, it’s a good business move.
2024
The Jets traded pick 10 and pick 203 to the Vikings for pick 11, 129, and 157
The Vikings clearly had some concerns that someone else was going to swoop in and take their quarterback of the future, so they gave the Jets some picks to jump up one spot to take JJ McCarthy. The Jets turned a sixth round pick into a fourth and fifth by moving down a spot so the Vikings could take a player they knew they weren’t going to take anyway. If you can get a deal like this, you have to take it.
Conclusion
I think the moral of the story here is to be careful about how much you prioritize quantity over quality at the top of the draft. While the draft is unpredictable, the truly elite players do tend to go near the top. Dropping too far in the name of stockpiling picks could cause you to miss out on a blue chip prospect. However, if you can find a partner in your vicinity that’s locked in on a particular player, you can pick up a similar caliber player while adding to a cache of day two or three picks. A safe target area for the Panthers to trade down to is probably in the 10 to 13 or 14 range based on recent results.