The 2023 Draft will be taking place on April 27th-29th. Which means the mock draft season has started. What Will the Panthers do with their first-round, two-second-round, and third-round draft picks?
First-Round (No. 9)
The most important pick is their first-round draft pick. They will trade up with the Seattle Seahawks (Who have the fifth overall pick) and draft C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State. The Panthers will send their Ninth overall and the 39th overall pick to the Seahawks for the fifth overall pick. If this trade happens there is also the possibility that Carolina could throw in players as well as future draft capital.
Stroud is the ideal quarterback for Carolina. He has an “I think he’s got a much higher ceiling than you’ve seen, He’s an unbelievable talent.” According to Ohio State’s Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. Now in a perfect scenario, Stroud would drop to nine. But, in the NFL you have to give up players and draft capital to get the players that a team wants.
Second-Round (61st)
Since Carolina traded their first second-round pick to the Seahawks they now only have one second-round pick the 61st pick. Carolina will go tight end which is a desperate need for them since the current tight ends on the roster are Tommy Tremble and Ian Thomas. With the 61st overall pick in the 2023 draft, the Carolina Panthers have selected Sam LaPorta out of Iowa
Sam LaPorta is one of the top TEs in this draft class. He led Iowa in receiving yards. Laporta is a great route runner and has great hands. Sam is a competitive blocker with a height of 6”4 and a weight of 249 lbs. Although the big negative with LaPorta is whether he can block sustainably.
Third-Round (93rd)
The Panthers are going to take a running back with the 93rd overall. They will pick Devon Achane out of Texas A&M. Archane had 196 attempts for 1,102 yards (which was 29th in the NCAA) he was one of four running backs to get to 1,000 plus. Devon had eight touchdowns this past season with the Aggies. The Panthers would be adding Archane to an already stacked running-back room with D’Onta Foreman, the Panthers' Featured back.
Although Arcane is a smaller running back, he is 5”9 and 185 lbs. Devon does have good versatility and elusiveness and his big-play ability. He would serve as that compact shifty back that would be beneficial for Carolina.
This is the first half of the Carolina Panthers 2023 Mock Draft. In the first round, they will trade up with the Seattle Seahawks for C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State. Then in the second, the team will draft Sam LaPorta out of Iowa. Finally, with their third-round pick, they will draft Devon Achane out of Texas A&M.
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