McShay: A 'Little Buzz' Anthony Richardson Interests Panthers at No. 1 After Trade

The Carolina Panthers reportedly could be targeting the fastest-rising prospect in the class after moving up from No. 9 to No. 1 overall in the 2023 NFL draft via a trade with the Chicago Bears on Friday.

According to ESPN draft expert Todd McShay, the Panthers could target any of the four projected first-round quarterbacks with the first overall pick, and there has been "a little buzz" that Carolina has interest in Florida signal-caller Anthony Richardson following his dominant performance at the NFL Scouting Combine.

The Panthers parted with the No. 9 and No. 61 overall picks in this year's draft, a 2024 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick and wide receiver D.J. Moore to jump up eight spots and select their new franchise quarterback.

During an appearance Saturday on SportsCenter, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler added that the Panthers are considering potentially as many as three of the four likely first-round quarterbacks.

Fowler mentioned Ohio State's C.J. Stroud and Alabama's Bryce Young primarily before noting one of the "wild-card" quarterbacks in Richardson or Kentucky's Will Levis may be on the Panthers' radar as well.

Carolina has gone through a carousel of mediocre quarterbacks since releasing Cam Newton after the 2019 season, and it hasn't yielded particularly strong results.

The Panthers have not reached the playoffs since 2017, which was also the last time they finished with more than seven wins in a season.

After Newton's departure, the Panthers have had five different quarterbacks start games: Teddy Bridgewater, P.J. Walker, Sam Darnold, a returning Newton and Baker Mayfield.

Despite going just 7-10 last season, the Panthers missed the playoffs by only one game as a result of playing in the weak NFC South. With even league-average quarterback play in 2022, they likely would have been a playoff team.

The New Orleans Saints are shaping up to be the NFC South favorites in 2023 after signing veteran quarterback Derek Carr, while the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers may both go with unproven commodities in Desmond Ridder and Kyle Trask, respectively.

That means there is a huge window of opportunity for long-term supremacy in the division, and the Panthers could seize it if they draft the right quarterback No. 1 overall.

As of now, it seems the Panthers are undecided on who they want to take if the bulk of media reports are to be believed.

Joseph Person of The Athletic reported league insiders believe the Panthers favor Stroud, while ESPN's Adam Schefter reported owner David Tepper may prefer Young despite head coach Frank Reich pushing for Stroud.

Perhaps no player in the entire draft has a higher ceiling than Richardson, who put on an athletic display at the combine by setting quarterback records in the high jump and broad jump and posting one of the best 40-yard dash times ever by a signal-caller at 4.43 seconds.

Richardson also showed effortless strength and touch on his deep balls at the combine, lending even more credence to the possibility of him being the top quarterback in the draft.

The biggest issue with Richardson is the fact that his college production lags far behind that of Young and Stroud.

In his only full season as a starter in 2022, Richardson completed just 53.8 percent of his passes for 2,549 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions, although he did plenty of damage with his legs, rushing for 654 yards and nine scores.

But despite his inconsistency as a passer, Richardson's size, arm strength and running ability may very well appeal to the Panthers organization.

One wild-card option to keep an eye on is the possibility of the Panthers trading out of the No. 1 overall slot if there are multiple quarterbacks they feel comfortable with, which is something Fowler reported could happen.