Carolina Panthers

Panthers Select a Running Back in Early Mock Drafts

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:55 p.m. ET

Fansided, Parker Hurley/FanSided via Cat Crave

Now that the offseason is here, we start to look at who the Carolina Panthers may draft in Round One…

Barring any unforeseen trade the Carolina Panthers will select eighth in the NFL Draft but with a few different needs, who becomes the newest Panther remains a mystery. Today, two of the more prominent names in draft industry, Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN, and Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network both released their first mock drafts of the season. Typically, this early on, a lot of debate comes about as the two will have slightly different variations of who will be taken by each team. However, for Carolina both had Leonard Fournette, running back from LSU..

Jeremiah wrote:

“The Panthers need to take some pressure off of Cam Newton, and that’s exactly what Fournette would do. He wasn’t healthy during his final season at LSU, but his tape was still impressive. He is a true workhorse running back.”

Kiper added:

“This is really the first spot I see that could be a good fit for Fournette, barring a trade up. He’s a special athlete with an incredible combination of size (6-1, 235), speed and power, but he won’t get a grade as high as I gave Ezekiel Elliott last year. Elliott went No. 4 in 2016, but backs have been devalued in recent years — he was the only back taken in the first round. Jonathan Stewart turns 30 this year and averaged only 3.8 yards per carry in 2016.”

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Not many fans of the Panthers would argue with this logic. Of any player signed on for the 2017 season, Stewart seems to be most likely to be a cap casualty. The Panthers have mentioned a change in offensive identity and adding a young and durable back may be the first step in that process for their run-first approach.

The Panthers also have some big questions on defense, as three big names are free agents this offseason and safety seems to be a glaring need as well.

However, Jeremiah has the top two defensive lineman and safeties off of the board by pick eight. Kiper has the same two defensive linemen gone but has the Panthers passing on safety Malik Hooker for Fournette. With the top two at each position gone, taking the top running back is no surprise, but the debate between Hooker and Fournette would be a great one at pick eight.

So what do you think, should it be Hooker, another position, or is Fournette the likely name?