The Carolina Panthers (Original Pick: Jaycee Horn #8)
Since the decline and departure of former MVP Cam Newton, the Carolina Panthers have been in quarterback limbo. The team has started career backup players in Kyle Allen, Will Grier, and P.J. Walker, and taking flyers on former high draft picks like Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. With a top-10 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Panthers elected to continue to rebuild their defense with South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn being selected with the eighth overall pick.
Horn hasn’t quite lived up to his hype just yet but is still a solid young player on a nice, developmental defense. However, plugging a quarterback into an offense that includes D.J. Moore and Christian McCaffrey could have resulted in an explosive offense that the team could build around as they continued to address the defense in the future.
Fields in Carolina would have been by far the best quarterback since Newton’s MVP season, and honestly could have become an even better player than the former Panthers signal caller. In a weak division where the best quarterback is an aging Tom Brady who likely does not have many more years in front of him, Fields could have securely had the Panthers in contention of winning their division for years to come.