Panthers owner David Tepper said the final episode of his team’s turnaround several years ago is now dead All or nothing The NFL is set to cluster around .500 for each team on Amazon, and the difference comes from having the perfect quarterback.
“This league is set up to be an 8-8 league,” Tepper said at the time. “Everything is fair in this league. You’ve got great coaches, great GMs, some advantages with facilities, advantages in coaching, management process, whatever, you know, analytics, whatever you need, that’s what you need. You need a good quarterback.
Tepper, after five years as a team owner, couldn’t get one. Now, with a bold move to first in a round, he has a chance to get one.
This is one of the benefits of the draft. Rarely do the best opportunities ever go where they are meant to be. With Frank Reich as coach and developing a young quarterback to be a franchise player the Panthers haven’t had since Cam Newton was in his prime, the Panthers have no reason to think that will happen. However, they have to make the right decision.
Twelve years after Newton came through with the No. 1 pick, the Panthers got another crack at a franchise. Of course, they may decide that several players fit the bill, allowing them to trade up, recover some assets, and still have a guy they trust. It won’t be an easy decision, given the bust ratio for top-10 quarterbacks is significant.
