Sam Darnold Traded — What This Means For the Panthers and the NFL Draft

On Monday afternoon earlier this week, the Jets finally pulled the trigger in trading quarterback Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers. The former 3rd overall pack in the 2018 draft was dealt in exchange for a sixth rounder in this year’s draft, along with a fourth and second in the 2022 draft. The move makes sense for both sides; the Jets have been rumored for weeks now to likely take BYU QB Zach Wilson with the second pick in this year’s draft, while the Panthers have made it clear that they wanted to upgrade at the game’s most important position after a pedestrian season from Teddy Bridgewater. While taking a QB with the 8th pick in this year’s draft or making a trade for Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson initially seemed like solid ways to solve the issue at the position, recent events in the last few weeks had made it clear that neither of those possible solutions were likely to occur. Trading for a young quarterback in Sam Darnold, a guy with lots of untapped potential and a ton to prove, ultimately proved to be the best option in the eyes of owner David Tepper and the rest of the Panthers’ front office. How does this move change the Panthers’ plans for the draft later this month and outlook for the season?

Draft Outlook Becomes More Clear at the Top

As previously mentioned, the Carolina Panthers made it abundantly obvious once the regular season ended that they were looking to upgrade at the quarterback position. With such a deep quarterback class this year, the initial thought was that the Panthers would likely be able to find their guy at the number 8 spot in the draft. However, after the 49ers traded up to the 3rd spot and made their intentions of drafting a quarterback clear, the Panthers likely figured that their chances of getting a franchise QB via the draft were weakening and needed to make a move (Hence the trade to get Sam Darnold). With the quarterback position now settled, at least for this year, Carolina can now focus on other needs and take more of a “best player available approach” with their spot at 8. Positions of need that stick out for the team would be offensive line, secondary, and tight end. Lucky for Carolina, they will almost certainly be able to address one of those needs with their first round pick. Oregon’s Penei Sewell and Northwestern’s Rashawn Slater are two phenomenal tackle prospects who can play anywhere on the line and would be a great pick should either fall to number 8. Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, regarded by most as the best corner in the draft, also would be a logical selection for the Panthers and could slide in immediately as the team’s number one corner. Carolina could also look to upgrade at tight end in the form of Florida’s Kyle Pitts, a freak athlete who is more of a wide receiver in a tight end’s body. Pitts is regarded by most draft experts as a top-five overall prospect and would likely bring production at the position that the Panthers have not experienced since the prime of Greg Olsen. Pitts is probably the least likely of these four guys to be available when Carolina picks, but expect at least two of them to be available. That being said, any of these selections would be solid picks for the Panthers, which is made easier through the acquisition of Sam Darnold. They will most likely continue to address these needs in the second and third rounds of the draft, while likely adding depth to other positions such as linebacker and receiver later on.

Darnold Gets His Chance to Shine

No one should be happier after the trade on Monday than Sam Darnold. After having to play with a poor supporting cast in New York and failed head coach Adam Gase, Darnold gets a fresh start in the Carolinas with a very talented offensive cast and a young but promising coaching staff. Second-year head coach Matt Rhule is an offensive-minded guy and offensive coordinator Joe Brady is back for another year to help continue grooming their young offense. Though Teddy Bridgewater is still on the team as of me writing this, multiple reports have stated that the Panthers are looking to restructure his contract in the hopes of making him cheaper next year and improving his appeal to potential trade suitors. Regardless of whether Bridgewater gets traded this offseason or not, expect Sam Darnold to be handed the keys to the offense in Week 1. He will be re-united with former number one receiver Robby Anderson while he was in New York, as well as getting to work with D.J. Moore and superstar running back Christian McCaffrey. With the offensive line already an upgrade over his previous situation with the Jets and likely reinforcements through the draft, Darnold should be more comfortable and have more time to throw behind Carolina’s line.

Some people are probably scratching their heads after this trade and wondering, “Did the Panthers really upgrade at the quarterback position? Is Sam Darnold really better than Teddy Bridgewater?” Short answer: yes, at least for what the Panthers are currently trying to do. While Teddy is certainly a capable quarterback and had some good moments this past season, it was painful at times watching his lack of arm strength and inability to stretch the field. Because of this, opposing secondaries often did not feel threatened about getting beat deep and were able to come up and sniff out short and intermediate routes, leading to offensive struggles in crucial situations and stalled drives. While Darnold will no doubt experience the luxury of having Christian McCaffrey back for hopefully a full season that Bridgewater didn’t have, it’s more than likely that Carolina will field a better and more explosive offense with Darnold at the helm. Darnold is more mobile than Bridgewater at this point in his career and has a much greater ability to stretch the field and throw the ball deep. This will allow the Panthers to spread the field more and open up more of the plays that OC Joe Brady likely wanted to call but couldn’t last year due to Bridgewater’s deficiencies. This transition in play-calling could open the door for more potential turnovers but will likely be outweighed by the more prolific and downfield attack, creating a more balanced offense.

It’s definitely understandable to have some reservations about Sam Darnold. Simply put, he hasn’t been good yet in the NFL. But a lot of the reasons he wasn’t great were due to things he couldn’t control around his former team and organization. This a new beginning for Sam Darnold in Carolina, and the Panthers now have a potential franchise quarterback after trying out a stopgap in Teddy Bridgewater last year and not liking the results. The Panthers don’t want to hear any more excuses around him and will be expecting Darnold to elevate his game in Carolina now given the chance. Expect him to make the most of it.