The Carolina Panthers, who hold the sixth overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, are reportedly bringing in all of the top-rated quarterbacks this spring.
Source: The Panthers are having QBs Malik Willis (Liberty), Kenny Pickett (Pitt), Matt Corral (Ole Miss), Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati), Sam Howell (UNC), and Bailey Zappe (Western Kentucky) in to Charlotte next week for 30 visits.
Visits will be staggered from Monday-Wednesday.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 5, 2022
The news is important to the Giants, who hold the fifth and seventh picks this year, because should the Panthers take a quarterback, it will push a much-coveted position player down to the Giants at No. 7.
Additionally, it could increase the value of the Giants’ picks if another team looks to move up ahead of Carolina (see: New Orleans Saints).
If Carolina is intent on selecting a quarterback, they would likely have to do it with their first round pick as they do not have a second or a third rounder this year.
Carolina is leaving no stone unturned as they try to figure out the future of a depth chart that currently reads: Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker. The Willis visit had been reported earlier this week, but it’s not a surprise that Carolina is trying to gather as much information as they possibly can. The thirst that this team has for a young option is immense and Darnold — if he even starts the year as the quarterback — will likely be usurped at some point by any quarterback drafted in the first two rounds.
Of course, the move could be a bluff by the Panthers to entice another team to trade up, perhaps with them, to obtain more draft capital. But as noted earlier, that could also work in the Giants’ favor.
