Through the first hour of the first round last Thursday, the atmosphere in the draft room was light. Fitterer leaned back in his chair and snapped pictures of the room to send to his family. Jokes were cracked, the kind of banter that happens around a football office. People didn’t really perk up until the 49ers took Trey Lance third overall, the first surprise of the night.
When the Falcons took Florida tight end/impossible matchup Kyle Pitts with the fourth overall pick, Rhule flashed an exaggerated thumbs up in the direction of defensive coordinator Phil Snow and said, “Good luck, Phil,” and laughed.
Then the Bengals took LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in the fifth spot, followed by the Dolphins taking Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle with the sixth pick, and there was a chorus of “yes,” from the draft room.
With only one team between them and their turn, the Panthers were this close to having their choice of either Penei Sewell (the top left tackle on their board, at a position they could use) or Jaycee Horn (the top cornerback on their board, at a position they could use). Quarterback Justin Fields being available provided bait if someone wanted to make a move.
When the Lions took Sewell seventh, it scratched one of those off the list, and the atmosphere changed. The volume on the televisions surrounding the room was dropped. The only noises were the low conversations on the phone, and the answers that followed. The answer was consistently the same.
For all the pre-draft chatter about the possibilities of an available quarterback driving a trade down for the Panthers, when the moment came and they were on the clock, nothing shook them from their conviction to take the South Carolina cornerback with the eighth overall pick.
During the weeks leading up to the draft, the Panthers had conversations with at least a half-dozen teams about moving down in the first round, if they could acquire the right package of future picks, and not move too far back in this year’s order. It’s clear in the way they operated in the 10 minutes they were on the clock that the offers didn’t equal the chance to add a player they thought would change the way they play defense immediately.
For the sake of context, the Bears gave up the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, along with this year’s fifth-rounder as well as first- and fourth-rounders next year to move up to the Giants’ 11th spot to take Fields.
The Bears were among the teams the Panthers talked to in those moments, and without getting into the specifics of any proposals, it’s clear that moving back 12 spots in this year’s order was too far for the Panthers to feel comfortable falling without an overpayment. There were discussions with another team picking ahead of the Bears, but they knew there was a certain level below which they didn’t want to fall. One call came in from a team picking late in the round, and their offer was waved off quickly, with one voice from the room saying: “I don’t want to waste your time.”
