Could the Carolina Panthers Look to Trade Back up in the 2021 NFL Draft?

Published 04/29/2021, 7:54 PM EDT

The 2021 NFL Draft could prove to be a very important one for the Carolina Panthers. The franchise has had a lot of movement in the quarterback department during the offseason.

Trading in former New York Jets QB Sam Darnold, the team let go of the more experienced Teddy Bridgewater in a trade with the Denver Broncos.

With the franchise looking to now build around a young new quarterback, making the right moves in the draft will be crucial in getting off to a good start.

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The Carolina Panthers had a season to forget in 2020. Finishing 5-11, the Panthers have the eighth overall pick in the upcoming draft. But according to recent reports, the franchise might be looking to trade up the draft ladder.

Carolina Panthers looking at a potential trade

With the draft only minutes away, NFL insider Ian Rapoport took to Twitter to break the news of the franchise making calls to potentially trade up the draft ladder.

“An example of why this is a wild time: The #Panthers are sitting at No. 8 and have made calls about possibly trading back… and up. Could they move up to No. 4? Or 6? They are exploring,” Rapoport tweeted.

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Trading up to the fourth or sixth spot would get them in striking distance of some of the best young QBs available in the draft class. But drafting another QB wouldn’t make much sense given their recent acquisition of Darnold.

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The Panthers could realistically instead look to draft tight end Kyle Pitts or offensive tackle Penei Sewell if available. Drafting either will definitely make life a lot easier for Sam Darnold in Carolina.

Do you think the Panthers will trade up in the 2021 NFL Draft? Even if they do, what might they have to give up on to make the trade?

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Written by:

Shivayan Roy is currently an NFL writer at EssentiallySports. After completing his Masters Diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Roy functioned as a reporter for Goal.com and extensively covered the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Could the Carolina Panthers Look to Trade Back up in the 2021 NFL Draft?

Carolina Panthers looking at a potential trade

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