The Carolina Panthers might be thinking that enough is enough and it’s time for a change. So don’t be surprised if they rocket up to the podium for an offensive lineman with their first-round pick.
NFL media analyst Daniel Jeremiah joined The Rich Eisen Show on Monday to do what he does best and spit some nuggets on the draft. While discussing the logic behind his latest mock, specifically with his selection for the New York Giants at No. 5, Jeremiah gave us one of those nuggets on the Panthers—who may be zeroed in on a hog molly one way or another.
“Carolina, from everything I’ve been told—who picks right behind them [New York]—they are dead-set on the offensive line,” he said. “And to me it was like—put to me from somebody who’s tight in there with those guys—is no matter what give them an offensive linemen, even if you think it’s a reach.”
They may not really have to reach. The draft’s top linemen—Alabama’s Evan Neal, North Carolina State’s Ikem Ekwonu and Mississippi State’s Charles Cross—would, at least to this point, each be a fine combination of value meeting need. Even University of Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum, a Kyle Pitts-esque prospect at his position—could work himself into the conversation.
But if they do reach, it’ll be a contradiction of what head coach Matt Rhule preached last season—a focus on taking the best player available. As he summated, free agency is there to fill holes and the draft is there to add talent.
So with 2022 being a crucial campaign for Rhule, perhaps he’ll abandon that philosophy—possibly at the expense of the franchise’s future—to get an immediate fix on the offensive line.
