The Panthers picked 11 players in the 2021 NFL draft. However, the true emerging star of last weekend was Carolina’s new general manager, Scott Fitterer. In a glaring contrast to previous GMs, Fitterer navigated the draft aggressively and adroitly, adding several extra picks along the way and filling the team’s most-pressing position needs with high-quality athletes.
We still have questions about passing on Justin Fields and what the plan is at free safety, but this draft class did a lot to set up the Panthers for success in 2021. For one, Sam Darnold is walking into a better situation than he ever had with the Jets. Not only did Carolina decided to pass on even a developmental QB, Darnold got new receivers in Terrace Marshall and Shi Smith and a couple of highly promising offensive line prospects in Brady Christensen and Deonte Brown.
Add it all up and Darnold won’t have the excuse that he doesn’t have the tools to work with, here. Listen to Fitterer talk to SiriusXM NFL Radio about the keys to No. 14’s success.
"He just has to be Sam."@Panthers GM Scott Fitterer talked about the keys to success for Carolina's new QB Sam Darnold
🔊 LISTEN HERE 🔊 #KeepPounding | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/TS8oUkQdhZ
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) May 6, 2021
