The pandemic has profoundly changed the way teams prepare for the NFL draft. Instead of the usual Pro Days and official top-30 visits, teams are holding hour-long video calls with prospects.
That includes the Panthers, who are going into what will be general manager Marty Hurney’s last draft class. While Hurney has an excellent track record of making first-round picks, he has had notably less success at finding gems in the middle and later rounds.
With so many roster holes to fill this year, it’s more critical than ever that they get at least a few of those Day 3 picks right.
Carolina seems to be focused on those prospects right now. Yesterday, it was reported that the team will be video conferencing with TCU running back Sewo Olonilua, who is projected to be a seventh-round pick. We can add another name to that list of late-round interests.
According to Jourdan Rodrigue at the Athletic, the team held a video call with Northern Colorado quarterback Jacob Knipp. They were also on hand at his Pro Day.
Knipp (6-foot-4, 213 pounds) is probably not on the radar for most fans. Last season, he completed 61.3% of his passes and totaled 2,867 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Considering that’s against Big Sky competition, that’s not going to generate a lot of excitement.
If the Panthers are really interested in Knipp, it’s hard to see where he would fit in with the current QB room.
Teddy Bridgewater will be the starter and P.J. Walker is projected to be his first backup. That leaves last year’s third-round pick Will Grier in a rough spot, to say nothing of Knipp.
If Carolina picks him up, Knipp might be in the mix for the practice squad job. He is expected to be an undrafted free agent.
