The Carolina Panthers are hopeful they have found their franchise quarterback in Bryce Young. After a rough rookie campaign, the top overall pick from the 2023 NFL Draft showed flashes of stardom in his second year as the starter.
Now, it’s time for the Panthers to begin filling out their roster around Young while he is still on his rookie contract. So, why not follow a similar blueprint to what the Houston Texans did in 2023?
The Texans selected their quarterback of the future at No. 2 that year in C.J. Stroud, then immediately traded up to No. 3 for elite pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. It took Carolina a bit longer to realize that Young is the player it wants under center for the foreseeable future, but the window to be bold is open with the 2025 NFL Draft on the horizon.
Panthers Predicted To Swap Round 1 Picks With Giants, Select Penn State’s Abdul Carter
As it stands, the Panthers own the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft. The chances of a generational defender being on the board by then are slim to none, which is why a swap with the New York Giants could make sense.
The Giants’ quarterback room is now run by Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston after free agency, signaling that New York may view 2025 as a gap year.
The organization may not have fallen in love with either of the consensus top two QBs in the class (Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders), opening the opportunity to trade out of the No. 3 spot.
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli predicts the Giants to do exactly that. He has them trading out and the Panthers swooping in. The prized catch? Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter.
“The Giants have Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, and I don’t see them going QB here. Perhaps they’d jump on Carter and call it a day, but they have Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns,” Fornelli wrote. “If they don’t want [Shedeur] Sanders, and [Travis] Hunter is gone, trading down makes sense. For Carolina, trading up to grab [Abdul] Carter, who singlehandedly makes their pass-rush light years better … that makes sense, too.”
Penn St. edge rusher Abdul Carter had breakfast Sunday in State College, Pa., with New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll. Carter also is now scheduled to visit the Giants on Thursday in New Jersey, and he figures to be a top-3 pick. pic.twitter.com/cTvCwW7lSs
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 7, 2025
New York’s offense slotted at No. 24 in PFSN’s Offense+ metric last season, so it is obvious that a rookie signal-caller would be entering far from the best situation. This is why the Giants would be willing to move out of the spot, giving the Panthers and their No. 32-ranked defense, per PFSN’s Defensive+ metric, an opportunity to add a cornerstone.
While one player cannot completely flip a unit upside down, the 12-sack Nittany Lions star can heavily influence the Panthers’ struggling defense over time. Almost everyone in the know acknowledges the influence Carter will have on whichever organization selects him. He went off the board at No. 2 in one of PFSN’s latest mock drafts.