The first round of the NFL Draft couldn’t have fallen better for Ron Rivera, Marty Hurney and the Carolina Panthers as the prospect they seemingly had the most interest in through most of the draft process, Florida State’s Brian Burns, fell to them at the 16th spot after being mocked in the top ten as recently as the day of the draft.

“There were times coming into this process I didn’t think he’d be there,” said Hurney. “But he was and we are thrilled to have him.”

So the Panthers – and most of their fanbase – is thrilled to have Burns….but the beauty of the NFL Draft is that it’s a three day process – and the Panthers have more needs they’ll need to address in the second night of the draft which begins at 7p on Friday.

“We definitely have a plan going forward, tomorrow and day three, but I am not ready to tell you about it right now,” Hurney said when asked about how an edge rusher in the first affects the rest of his draft board. “Every time we talk about the first round, you are right, for every pick we have a plan [and] a follow up plan.”

“Now we just have to execute it.”

The Panthers likely are angling for a safety or offensive lineman and there are still plenty of talented players to choose from, whether it’s Jawaan Taylor, Cody Ford or Greg Little, all of whom were thought to be first-round picks – or defensive backs Greedy Williams, Nassir Adderley or Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, there are a lot of talented players that could step in and help the Panthers immediately.

With at least ten highly rated players at positions of need – that’s the six listed above with Byron Murphy and Taylor Rapp as well as two wild cards – and 14 picks before the Panthers 47th pick, there might be some temptation for Marty Hurney to make calls and move up the board for a prospect they have a high grade on.

But what would it take to move up?


Last season, the Titans traded the 57th and 89th picks to move up to 41st – but that’s likely not exactly the right combination of placement for the Panthers; their 47th pick is more valuable than the 57th – but a combination of 47 & 100 might be enough to move up into the top 40.

In 2017, the Bears traded the 36th and 117th picks to the Cardinals for the 45th, 119th, 197th and a 2018 fourth rounder. That lines up similarly to what the Panthers have this year in 47, 115 and 187 – would they be willing to work a deal with a team like the 49ers, who have a need at WR in a draft that still has most of the wideouts on the board, for the 36th and 104th pick?

Or perhaps the Colts, who traded out of the first round for two second round picks already, might be interested in shipping the 34th and 129th pick to Carolina for a combination of the Panthers second, fourth and fifth rounder and a day three pick in next year’s draft. Would that be worth the opportunity for the Panthers to have their choice at offensive tackle if a player they had a first round grade on was still available?

The Panthers also may choose to stand pat and wait – just like they did in the first round when exactly the player they wanted from the very beginning fell straight to them.

Like the Panthers did in the first round, we’ll have to wait and see.

 

Josh Klein on Twitter
Josh Klein
Editor-In-Chief at The Riot Report
Josh Klein is Editor-In-Chief of The Riot Report. His favorite Panther of all time is Chad Cota and he once AIM chatted with Kevin Greene. Follow Josh on Twitter @joshkleinrules.