Panthers Make Huge Mistake in Todd McShay's Latest 2022 NFL Mock Draft

The Carolina Panthers have not made the playoffs in any of the last four seasons and lack talent at a number of different positions. This could be a make-or-break offseason for head coach Matt Rhule's squad, which makes their pick in Todd McShay's 2022 NFL mock draft that much more frustrating.

Mock 3.0 is here! Lots of shakeups —including the Jags pick at No. 1 — due to Russell Wilson trade, franchise tags and post-Combine rankings movement. Have at it… https://t.co/xRmU1Nip73
— Todd McShay (@McShay13) March 9, 2022

Panthers Mock Draft

McShay has the Panthers selecting Mississippi State offensive lineman Charles Cross with the No. 6 overall pick. Cross is an immediate NFL starter and only gave up 1 sack across 683 snaps during his sophomore season. The simple fact is that Carolina still lacks a capable starting quarterback, though.

Yes, this quarterback class isn't nearly as stacked at the top as some of the year's past have been. However, reaching for a position of need isn't always a bad thing. It's important to remember that Carolina finished with the fourth-worst passing offense in all of football (190.5 yards per game).

Malik Willis shined at the NFL combine by constantly nailing deep throws and showing off his pinpoint accuracy in drills. Meanwhile, Kenny Pickett is coming off a season in which he threw 42 touchdowns compared to 7 interceptions. Both signal-callers would be a massive upgrade from Sam Darnold.

Carolina has over $31 million in available cap space and is playing in a suddenly wide open NFC South division. The front office can find a reliable OL upgrade in the free agent market, but that same thing cannot be said at QB. It's worth the risk to take one at the end of April in hopes of grabbing a star.

The 2022 NFL Draft is set to start on Thursday, April 28.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.