Old Panthers nemesis could be their best chance to trade down in Round 1

Sean Payton made a living beating the Carolina Panthers when he was head coach of the division-rival New Orleans Saints. Especially during the peak Drew Brees years, Payton dominated this rivalry, at one point winning nine of 11 matchups with Carolina.

The NFL draft sometimes produces some strange bedfellows, though - and this year Payton and the Denver Broncos are in a unique position to help both themselves and the Panthers. Going into the draft, everything we're hearing indicates Carolina will either take Jalon Walker from Georgia at No. 8 overall or move down in the first round.

The trouble with that second proposition is there's not many teams interested in moving up into the top 10 this year, owing to a lack of blue-chip talent at the top. One exception to the rule is Payton's Broncos, who reportedy have made calls about moving up from the 20th overall spot.

It may feel like doing a deal with the devil to many Panthers fans, but anything that gets them more draft capital to address their many roster deficiencies is probably a good thing.

Any move up from the Broncos will have to include their 51st overall pick in the draft in Round 2. They may also have to include a 2026 pick or one of their other selections (they hold Nos. 85, 122, 191, 197 and 208 overall).

As for who they're targeting, the Broncos picked up tight end Evan Engram in free agency, but they could still stand to upgrade their wide receiver room for Bo Nix, which currently consists of Courtland Sutton and not a whole lot else. So, Denver could be trying to land someone like Tet McMillan from Arizona, who's the number one pure wide receiver prospect in this class.

Of course, the Panthers' receiver corps could use some work of its own, and there's a case to take the best one available after trading down, if they can indeed find a willing partner.

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