If the Carolina Panthers had . . . one shot, or one opportunity . . . to redo the 2021 NFL draft . . . and seize a quarterback . . . would they capture it . . . or just let it slip (again)?
Lose yourself a year back in time with Pro Football Focus lead NFL analyst Sam Monson and find out. Monson recently rewound on last spring’s draft—setting up a similar scenario for the passer-needy Panthers.
As Carolina’s No. 8 overall pick turned up, Ohio State University quarterback Justin Fields and University of South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn—like they actually did 14 months ago—remained on the board. But, knowing what we do now with the franchise even more desperate for an answer under center, does Monson forgo Horn and grab Fields?
Nope. Snap back to reality.
“The Panthers would have to give serious consideration to going offensive line here the way Miami did, with Creed Humphrey the best-graded center in the game as a rookie, but taking a center in the top-10 would be unprecedented in the modern era,” writes Monson, who later sends Fields to the Denver Broncos at No. 9. “Ultimately, they stick with their decision and re-draft Horn. Horn looked impressive right out of the gate, allowing just one catch in three games before he was lost for the season.”
Time will tell if Horn was the right pick for this team, especially given the fact that Fields wasn’t the only impressive rookie passer on the board. That doesn’t, however, make him a bad pick.
Horn, as Monson alludes to, flashed just about everything you’d want to see out of a future shutdown star in the limited time he had. We saw the eye-opening athleticism, we saw the swagger and we saw the results—and we’ll see plenty more in 2022.
What we have yet to see, though, is an effective plan from this organization for the most important position in the sport. And even though Fields didn’t exactly set the football world on fire in his opening campaign, at least in the box score, there’s plenty of promise to be tapped into moving forward.
Well, the beat goes on . . . da-da-dom, da-dom, dah-dah, dah-dah.
