Even after the implementation of a franchise tag and a trade for a Pro Bowl-caliber pass catcher, the Carolina Panthers are still considered a potential landing spot for a certain wideout.
With Stefon Diggs on the move, Adam Wells of Bleacher Report recently named the best possible suitors for a few other big-name receivers—Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins and free agent Odell Beckham Jr. Wells marked the Panthers as a fit for the former:
Adding Higgins would dramatically improve the Panthers’ receiver room. They would have a bona fide No. 1 on the outside who can create plays deep down the field or in traffic.
Even if the Panthers had to trade the No. 33 pick, which is their first selection in the 2024 draft, they need to surround Young with as much immediate-impact talent as possible to determine if he’s the quarterback they thought he was when they selected him with the top pick last year.
If the Panthers want to make such a deal, it’d obviously have to come within the next few weeks.
Carolina currently holds the 33rd and 39th overall selections in the 2024 NFL draft. Those could appeal to the Bengals, who slapped Higgins with the franchise tag back in February.
But would the Panthers rather draft their own wide receiver with at least one of those picks and have him on a rookie deal or use one to trade for and immediately pay the 25-year-old Higgins?