With a handful of needs and not a ton of cap space to address them, the Carolina Panthers may ultimately have to decide between keeping Donte Jackson or Stephon Gilmore this offseason . . . or do they?
Maybe they keep neither and, instead, decide to keep the extra cash to use on offense. And if that’s the case, then NFL.com media analyst Daniel Jeremiah may be onto something with the Panthers’ choice in his first mock draft of 2022—University of Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner.
“The Panthers will likely have their pick of any quarterback in the draft class, but, barring an unexpected move, they’re committed (at least financially) to Sam Darnold for one more season,” Jeremiah writes. “Gardner is the most gifted cornerback in the draft and would team with Carolina’s 2021 first-rounder, Jaycee Horn, to give the Panthers the best young duo in the NFL.”
