The Carolina Panthers currently hold the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but that may not be the case for long. While the team showed signs of life down the stretch and spent big in free agency, there are still plenty of holes on this roster. With Bryce Young looking like a franchise quarterback, the Panthers will likely use a “best player available” approach to the draft, which means they could choose to stockpile picks and increase their odds of landing multiple high-caliber starters.
According to Joseph Person of The Athletic, Carolina is “open to the idea” of trading back from the eighth-overall pick. This makes sense, as the difference in talent between the eighth-overall pick and a mid- or late-first-round pick isn’t too drastic in this class. Of course, it takes two to tango, so which teams could target Carolina in a potential blockbuster move?
BREAKING: Panthers “Open” to Massive NFL Draft Trade
Deal With A Division Rival
The Carolina Panthers are fortunate enough to draft directly before the New Orleans Saints. Quarterback is the most important position in football, and the Saints will likely target one of the top options in the class. With Derek Carr’s season in jeopardy, nobody should be surprised if New Orleans selects someone like Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart.
If any team wants to beat the Saints to the punch, they’ll need to trade up with the Carolina Panthers. In a perfect world, Carolina will cut out the middleman and strike a deal with the Saints themselves. By falling from the eighth-overall pick to the ninth-overall pick, the Panthers can still get their preferred prospect while adding an additional draft pick for essentially nothing. The Saints have two picks in the fourth round, and New Orleans could trade their later fourth-round pick for that one-spot move.
Other Trades
Of course, the only reason the Saints would trade with the Panthers is if they believe another team could steal their preferred quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. Most teams have already addressed their quarterback position, but the Indianapolis Colts are not one of them. As of this posting, the team is set to have Anthony Richardson and former New York Giants castoff Daniel Jones battle for the Week 1 job. Despite their first-round pedigree, both players have struggled throughout their professional careers and don’t inspire confidence at the NFL level.
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen may not survive another losing season, and it’s hard to envision this quarterback room guiding the team to the playoffs. With no other way to upgrade the room, Indianapolis could call the Panthers about a potential trade during the 2025 NFL Draft. Using the DraftTek value chart, Indianapolis could send their first- and second-round picks for Carolina’s eighth- and 111th-overall picks. While Sanders and Dart might not be the best quarterback prospects in recent memory, Steichen and the Colts cannot afford to be picky as the team searches for their first playoff appearance since the short-lived Philip Rivers Era.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – Imagn Images
