A popular take that has been spreading around lately is the idea of Carolina drafting a quarterback within the first three rounds of the draft. When I think about all the holes the Panthers have on both sides of the football, it doesn’t make sense for them to even consider a quarterback that early.
It seems as though most of the arguments that support the Panthers drafting a quarterback that early center around Cam Newton’s health. It’s completely understandable for fans to worry about this. His shoulder injury in Week 10 against the Steelers triggered a seven game losing streak for the Panthers after a promising 6-2 start. His arm was clearly not the same powerful arm we are used to seeing on Sundays, and we don’t know if we will ever see that arm again. However, there is still a lot of hope in the air, especially from Cam’s perspective. This video from Cam’s YouTube vlog channel provides a close look at Cam’s injury and rehab process:
With all that being said, Cam’s health is a logical concern, but it shouldn’t be the biggest concern for this football team to address through the draft.
If you want to reference the Panthers’ multiple needs, feel free to check out this article.
Quarterback was listed as one of the needs, but it shouldn’t be high on the Panthers’ draft priority list. After all, the Panthers already have some solid depth at the quarterback position with Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke. In the 2018 season, Allen and Heinicke threw for a combined 586 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. The two quarterbacks have already proven that they can produce decent numbers on the field if Newton goes down again. (Knock on wood...)
At the end of the day, football games are won at the line of scrimmage, and after watching a defensive line with little to no effective pass rush and Cam Newton getting sacked multiple times per game, I feel pretty confident in saying that the lack of production on the line of scrimmage is what limited the Panthers’ success the most in 2018. When it comes to the early rounds, I believe that this team will use their picks on linemen on both sides of the ball, but you never know what could happen on draft day. What do you think?