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It hasn’t been the best offseason for the Carolina Panthers, as they were all in on Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson to replace Teddy Bridgewater, but neither have panned out. They ended up trading for reclamation project Sam Darnold, which may mean they are out on drafting a quarterback, but that isn’t a lock.
They have a high draft pick, with the No. 8 slot, and there’s a chance they’ll go with a left tackle, as there are some strong candidates at that point. Again, quarterback is still in the cards, but I’d expect they’d need things to fall just right for them to grab one.
Offensive line is deep in this season, and they could draft a strong player at 39th overall, which gives them some leeway with their first draft pick. If a player like Kyle Pitts somehow fell, they probably couldn’t resist. But in the end, they still know they aren’t going to be a Super Bowl contender no matter what this season, and grabbing a top lineman is the way to go.
Carolina Panthers 2021 Draft selections
No. 8: Jaycee Horn, CB
No. 59 (via CLE): Terrace Marshall Jr., WR
No. 73: Brady Christensen, OT
No. 83 (via CHI): Tommy Tremble, TE
No. 126 : Chubba Hubbard, RB
No. 158: Daviyon Nixon, DT
No. 166: Keith Taylor, CB
No. 193: Deonte Brown, G
No. 204: Shi Smith, WR
No. 222: Thomas Fletcher, LS
No. 232: Phil Hoskins, DT
Fantasy football impact
Terrace Marshall Jr.
This is a nice spot to get Marshall. He’s the prototype build for an NFL No. 1 wide receiver and has the ability to track, fight for and catch the mid to deep ball consistently. He’s still a little raw as a route runner and needs to play a little faster, but it should come. His fantasy prospects aren’t great in Carolina early on, but he’ll be in a good environment to make an impact in a couple seasons.
Tommy Tremble
The Carolina offense should be excited for the potential of third round tight end Tommy Tremble. He was part of some incredible tight end groups in college, so he doesn’t have the numbers to show it off, but Tremble has incredible upside at the tight end position. The Panthers added Dan Arnold this offseason, but Tremble is an incredible blocker who should see the field plenty as a rookie, though it’s difficult to predict a big season for a Year 1 tight end.
Chubba Hubbard
Hubbard averaged 26 carries per game in 2019 and produced well, but 2020 was a different story. He has good footwork and quickness, but doesn’t use it as often as he should. Instead he works as a one cut back in a zone blocking scheme. The Panthers are set with Christian McCaffrey, but will need a backup with Mike Davis gone. Hubbard has a similar style as Davis and could see backup duty.