What NFL team is the right fit for Tanner McKee?

When it comes to producing NFL talent at the quarterback position, Stanford may be the best kept secret in the entire country.

With players like Davis Mills, Kevin Hogan, and of course the legendary Andrew Luck all hailing from Stanford, there is quite the pedigree of quarterback coming out of Palo Alto. That trend is on track to continue as signal caller Tanner McKee is expected to be the next Cardinal quarterback to hear his name called in the NFL Draft.

McKee is projected to be the third quarterback taken after the likes of Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, and has sites like On3 ranking him as the No. 17 best prospect in the entire class. This likely means that he will be selected by a team that is just a few pieces away from being competitive, rather than teams at the top of the draft who are in the midst of a huge rebuild.

PFF's Michael Renner came up with one draft prospect each NFL team should be watching, and for the Carolina Panthers, it was McKee. The Panthers are an interesting fit and likely one of the worst situations for a young quarterback considering Matt Rule is another bad season away from being out of a job and the quarterback room is full. Here is what Renner had to say about the pick:

Let’s face it, the Panthers' roster is too good to really compete for the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. More likely than not, they won’t have their pick of the litter to replace Sam Darnold.

That being said, there very well could be a number of franchise-type options in the upcoming class, with McKee being one of those names. In his first year of starting after taking a two-year LDS mission, McKee earned a 69.0 overall grade and flashed a big-time NFL arm.

It is also peculiar considering they drafted Ole Miss' Matt Corral in this past draft, and a few days after Renner wrote this they traded for Baker Mayfield. McKee could still be a potential target if there is a new regime that comes in and doesn't want to use Mayfield, Darnold, or Corral and wants a guy they picked to start fresh.

Personally I think a teams like the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, or even the Miami Dolphins if they choose to move on from Tua Tagovailoa would all be better fits for McKee.

Renner also pointed out what McKee needs to improve upon in his quarterback rankings article to help solidify his ranking as a first round pick saying:

Of course, McKee is not without things to improve on. Of his turnovers, most came in panicked situations under pressure. He’ll too often throw with anticipation even when a defender's leverage makes a route untenable. We’ll see if he can clean up those issues for a more productive 2022 season that could lock him into the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

McKee has a very experienced arsenal of pass catchers to throw to, and if the offensive line is able to keep him upright he will be poised to have a breakout year.