2012 NFL Draft: Carolina Panthers Must Trade Up or Down

Picking in the ninth overall slot, the Panthers are faced with a tough situation. The surefire "blue-chippers" (Luck, Griffin, Kalil, Blackmon, Claiborne) will very likely be off the board, and the Panthers will be stuck in a situation where they must consider picking value. (I leave Richardson off of that list because Carolina has no need for him. Though I believe he will be a very successful player in the league).

Given that this is the case, Hurney & Co. would be foolish not to trade up or down from the ninth spot. We will take a look at the top the outcomes for the Panthers' franchise and fans:

Trading Down: Trade Down to No. 15 with the Eagles

I think trading down is the best option for the Panthers. The value just isn't there for our needs. Between Brockers, Poe, Cox and Still, there is plenty of DT value available in this draft, and I think we can take advantage of that by trading down without much consequence.

Our trade partner here is the Eagles. They would do this because they sorely need linebacker help, and Luke Kuechly will be there at nine, but not 15.

Carolina would give up: 2012 first-rounder, 2012 fourth-rounder

Philly would give up: 2012 first-rounder, 2012 second-rounder

The way this would have to go down would be:

Mock Draft:

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck

2. Washington Redskins (from St. Louis): Robert Griffin III

3. Minnesota Vikings: Matt Kalil

4. Cleveland Browns: Justin Blackmon

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Trent Richardson

6. St. Louis Rams: Morris Claiborne

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Melvin Ingram

8. Miami Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill

9. Philadelphia Eagles (from CAR): Luke Kuechly

10. Buffalo Bills: Reilly Reiff

11. Kansas City Chiefs: Davis DeCastro

12. Seattle Seahawks: Quentin Coples

13. Arizona Cardinals: Michael Floyd

14. Dallas Cowboys: Dontari Poe

15. Carolina Panthers (from PHI): Dre Kirkpatrick

We could go in many directions here, with Cox or Brockers at DT (as I said, still the same players available at 9!), but I really like Dre Kirkpatrick here. He can cover extremely well and can come up and help against the run better than any other corner in this class. He's big, he's physical and he'd make a great addition to the Panthers secondary.

Then in the second round, I have us taking Alshon Jeffery at 40 and Brandon Thompson at 46.

An incoming crop of Kirkpatrick, Jeffery and Thompson would be absolutely incredible—the best draft the Panthers have had in quite some time, if not ever. It would immediately put them in position to win the division. 

Trading Up: #9 and Next Year's 2nd-Rounder for the 6th Overall Pick

Let me preface this explanation by saying that I don't think the Panthers should trade up for any player but Morris Claiborne. Blackmon is great, but we would have to give up too much to get him for what he would bring in return. Especially considering we have Smitty, LaFell, Gettis, and then there will be plenty of WR talent available in the later rounds.

Mock Draft:

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck

2. Washington Redskins (from St. Louis): Robert Griffin III

3. Minnesota Vikings: Matt Kalil

4. Cleveland Browns: Justin Blackmon

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Trent Richardson

6. Carolina Panthers (from St. Louis): Morris Claiborne

Trade: 

The Panthers trade the ninth overall pick and next year's second-rounder to the St. Louis Rams for their sixth pick. Looking at the draft chart, Carolina will lose just a little bit of value, and even less when considering their pick next year will very likely be worse than ninth. 

The Rams would do this because there will be some very solid players available at nine, but cornerback isn't nearly as big of a need for St. Louis as it is for Carolina. Also, St. Louis has so many holes in their roster that picking up another second-rounder will be intriguing to them.

I've heard a lot of people suggest that the Panthers trade Jonathan Stewart and their first-rounder to Cleveland to move up to four, but I really am not a fan of that idea.

Stewart might be one of the most underrated backs in football as far as his versatility and consistency. He's also four years younger then DeAngelo Williams. His contract is up after this season, but I'm sure he would want to stay in Carolina.

Hurney actually did a great job of restructuring contracts and creating the cap space necessary to make the signings he did this offseason, and he will be able to do the same to sign Stewart to the contract he deserves.

Final Note: I would be thrilled to land Claiborne, but I am a much bigger fan of the trading down option.