The Carolina Panthers made out on Thursday night with their selection of offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu—an outcome almost no one thought possible. That, however, doesn’t mean they’ll rest on their laurels during Friday’s action.
NFL Network reporter Bridget Condon sat down with general manager Scott Fitterer at Bank of America Stadium after the conclusion of the 2022 draft’s first round. And with the Panthers in possession of exactly zero picks for the second and third rounds, Condon asked if the team would try to shimmy back in.
“We’ll look at every opportunity,” Fitterer said of possibly trading into Day 2. “We’re gonna huddle up tonight and figure out ‘Hey, what’s best for us?’ As an organization, we really don’t want to dip into next year. But if it’s something that ‘Hey, I can’t believe this person is on the board,’ maybe we’ll look at it. But we have to be disciplined. We can’t get behind on picks again.”
What has them currently behind on picks are the trades for quarterback Sam Darnold, which cost them their second-rounder, and cornerback CJ Henderson, which cost them their third-rounder. Carolina is slated to hit the clock again starting in the fourth round, with the 137th overall pick.
But is there anyone worth jumping back in the pool for? Maybe there’s a certain quarterback that’ll tickle their fancies enough . . .
