Panthers on the clock: NFL draft decision could make or break Carolina's fortunes for years

Now the real mystery at the top of the NFL draft beckons.

Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud? Hit or miss?

Maybe the Carolina Panthers are suddenly poised to finally find their answer for another franchise quarterback by selecting one of the top-rated players from the latest pool of college talent.

If they blow it, though, the ramifications could have a devastating effect that sinks the team for years.

After trading away a bundle of premium picks and top-flight receiver DJ Moore to obtain the No. 1 pick overall in the 2023 draft, that’s the bottom-line pressure facing the Panthers' brain trust, which includes team owner David Tepper, general manager Scott Fitterer and new coach Frank Reich.

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As promised, the Chicago Bears parlayed the top pick into more draft selections to bolster the rebuilding job around their dynamic quarterback, Justin Fields.

Yet there is no promise that the Panthers will parlay their lofty position into a sure-fire slam dunk.

NFL MOCK DRAFT:Panthers' trade for No. 1 pick shakes up entire first round

That’s no knock on Young, the former Alabama star whom many consider the best quarterback in the draft despite his slight frame and lack of height (5-foot-10, 204 pounds). And there’s no short-changing the potential of Stroud, coming off his phenomenal career at Ohio State.

If both Young and Stroud live up to their potential, maybe it’s an easy, either-or choice for Carolina.

Yet history suggests, with so many quarterback flops, that it’s hardly automatic.

Remember, the former Bears regime drafted Mitchell Trubisky with the second pick overall in 2017, passing on Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.

Ouch.

In 2018, the Baltimore Ravens landed Lamar Jackson as the fifth quarterback selected, at the end of the first round, after Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen were long gone.

Moral of the selection: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The history of the draft is flooded with such 20-20 hindsight decisions that should remind us (and the Panthers) of the risks that come with paying the high price to become the first team to call their shot in what is hailed as a top-heavy quarterback class.

Somewhere, Bill Polian can pat himself on the back (again) for picking Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf for the Indianapolis Colts with the top pick in 1998. Between the two, Leaf had a stronger arm and better mobility. Manning turned out to be the one who won two Super Bowls and five NFL MVP awards.

In this equation at the top, it’s also possible that Carolina could trade again, conceivably moving down a few slots to nab Florida product Anthony Richardson or Kentucky’s Will Levis. Richardson is especially intriguing after blowing up the combine as the 244-pounder who blazed with a 4.43 clocking in the 40-yard dash and set combine records for quarterbacks with a 40½-inch vertical leap and 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump.

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As it stands now, the Panthers gave up first-round picks this year and next year, second-round picks this year and in 2025, plus the talented Moore to move up eight slots in the first round. Had they remained in the ninth position, they could have missed out on all four of the top-rated quarterbacks.

With Reich now installed as the in-house quarterback handler, flanked by a QB guru in Jim Caldwell as part of a deep, accomplished coaching staff, the Panthers have almost seven weeks to make up their minds.

Good luck with it.

During the combine, on the heels of visiting with veteran Derek Carr (who signed with the New Orleans Saints last week), Reich pondered various scenarios — including exactly what happened on Friday in trading up.

“Every option is on the table,” Reich told reporters at the combine. “I mean, it has to be. You have to know this is a huge decision. And it would be malpractice not to really vet through every one of those decisions. What’s the impact? What are the unintended consequences? You have to think through all of that. And that’s where we’re at right now.”

Reich is a former quarterback who played 14 NFL seasons. But it’s ironic that the opportunity arose in Carolina after his final seasons as the Colts coach were marred by the shaky quarterback play. That the Colts never recovered from the retirement of Andrew Luck in 2019 ultimately contributed to Reich’s firing last season.

Now there’s a do-over for Reich, who matches with a franchise similarly challenged. The last time Carolina had the top pick in the draft, in 2011, it turned out as a smashing hit ... for a few years. Cam Newton emerged as one of the NFL’s most exciting players, winning league MVP honors en route to Super Bowl 50. But since Newton’s heyday, the Panthers have had eight starting quarterbacks in five years.

The table is set for a revival.

But no, nothing is automatic. Remember, it wasn’t too long ago (2020), when Tepper tapped a successful college coach, Matt Rhule, to lead his franchise. The Rhule era turned out to be a costly disaster — which is one thing the Panthers can’t afford in picking a franchise quarterback.