The Carolina Panthers took Jaycee Horn, a cornerback, with the eighth pick in the 2021 draft instead of Justin Fields, who was available almost two years earlier. However, will they be redone this spring?
The scouting department of the 33rd Team thinks they might, or at least should. The group of T.J. McCreight, Kevin Cohn, Justin Casey, and Evan Pritt, all of whom have previous experience working in the NFL’s front office, gets creative with Carolina’s first-round selection in their most recent mock draft for 2023.
In this scenario, the Panthers trade the ninth overall pick to the Chicago Bears for Fields rather than drafting and developing their own franchise quarterback. Yes, directly!
Fields just wrapped up a record-breaking 2022 season in which he rushed for the most yards by a quarterback in a game (178). The explosive playmaker finished with 1,143 rushing yards, second only to Lamar Jackson’s record of 1,206 rushing yards set in a single season in 2019
From a statistical standpoint, Fields was a little less impressive in the air. He threw for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, completing 60.4% of his passes.
But would Frank Reich, the new Panthers head coach, be able to make use of Fields’ strengths as a passer? And if this is the case, would he, who has already played in the NFL for two years, expedite the selection process and be worth the ninth pick?