On Tuesday, Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer assured reporters (and Sam Darnold, apparently) that he’d soon be adding a quarterback to the roster. But he probably won’t be doing it with the sixth overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft.
Let’s start with a report earlier in the week from Bridget Condon of the NFL Network. Condon, during an appearance on NFL Now, stated that it’d be somewhat of a surprise for the Panthers to use that selection on a passer.
“The two most notable needs for the Carolina Panthers—offensive line and quarterback,” she said. “What I’m hearing is that as of right now, it’s very unlikely for the Panthers to take a quarterback with that sixth overall pick. And the reason why is because there’s doubt about one of the quarterbacks in this year’s draft being good enough to take at six. So what are the options for the Panthers? What they’d like to do is trade back—possibly get a left tackle a little bit later than six—and be able to get a quarterback in the second or third round whether that’s Desmond Ridder, Sam Howell—hometown guy, they really like him too.”
