The Carolina Panthers will definitely supplant some players on draft weekend. They are going to take some starter-level players, and other positions will be fought over after the draft. The current lineup won’t remain.
Right now, Luke Fortner and Trevin Wallace are starting at center and LB2, respectively. But after the draft, that may not be the case, especially if this three-round mock draft by multiple draft experts comes to fruition.
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Mock draft would move two Panthers players to bench
Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez looks on during warmups before the Big 12 Conference championship | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
ESPN shared a three-round mock draft recently in which experts Field Yates, Matt Miller, and Jordan Reid alternated every single pick. Ironically, because of how the picks were laid out, Reid made all three predictions for the Panthers.
With the 19th pick, the Panthers selected Spencer Fano, guard/tackle from Utah. “Fano can play all five spots up front, and he could even fill in at center as a rookie prior to moving to another spot after his first season. He’s light on his feet and plays with urgency,” Reid said.
With the 51st pick, the Panthers selected Jacob Rodriguez, linebacker from Texas Tech. “Devin Lloyd was a huge signing, but the Panthers still need significant linebacker upgrades. Rodriguez would be another instinctive second-level playmaker,” Reid explained.
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With the 83rd pick, the Panthers selected Logan Jones, center from Iowa. “Jones is more of an insurance pick at center in the short term but could give the Panthers a potential long-term answer in the middle of the front,” Reid concluded.
Jones is seen as a long-term option after the one-year Fortner deal, but the specific note that Fano can play center is important. Fortner is the stopgap starter now, but the Panthers won’t spend the 19th pick on a backup.
Iowa Hawkeyes offensive lineman Logan Jones (65) celebrates a win after the game | Ross Harried-Imagn Images
And looking across the line, it’s unlikely that Fano would supplant Robert Hunt, Damien Lewis, or Taylor Moton, and replacing Rasheed Walker is unlikely, too. Fortner’s the odd man out. And if that wasn’t enough, Jones being brought in only makes his path to starting harder.
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As for Wallace, he’s strictly a starter because the Panthers currently have no one else. Lloyd replaced Christian Rozeboom, and if the Panthers get Rodriguez, Wallace will go to the bench. Honestly, if the Panthers get any linebacker in the first three rounds, Wallace will be a backup.
The Panthers met with and seem to be enamored by both Rodriguez and Anthony Hill Jr., so Wallace’s days are numbered. Someone’s going to replace him, and in this mock, it’s Rodriguez.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/panthers/onsi as NFL Experts’ 3-Round Panthers Mock Is Bad News for Trevin Wallace, Luke Fortner.