Panthers predicted to trade for $21 million edge rusher using No. 8 pick

The Carolina Panthers were recently predicted to pull off a blockbuster trade involving their No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft

Carolina Panthers President of Football Operations/General Manager Dan Morgan. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers have a decent but not great situation when it comes to their edge rusher group, so it's not outlandish to think the team could make another move to further bolster the position.

A group of Jadeveon Clowney, D.J. Wonnum, Tershawn Wharton and Patrick Jones is promising, but Wonnum and Clowney combined for just 9.5 sacks last season, Wharton had never totaled more than two sacks before 2024 and Jones is also coming off an outlier of a season with seven sacks (Jones' previous career-high was four).

On top of all that, both Clowney and Wonnum are set to be free agents in 2026, and either one departing would leave the team with a gaping hole along the edge.

With that in mind, The Sporting News' Mike Masala and USA TODAY's Natalie Miller cooked up a trade in a content creator mock draft from Pro Football & Sports Network that has the Panthers acquiring Cincinnati Bengals star edge rusher, Trey Hendrickson.

The deal sees the Bengals send Hendrickson and the No. 17 overall pick to the Panthers for the No. 8 selection and a third-rounder (No. 74).

"The Bengals can ship (Hendrickson) to a team that needs help on the edge and select Jalon Walker, one of the draft’s most intriguing prospects," Masala wrote. "While his size isn’t that of a prototypical edge rusher, Walker possesses the tenacity and athleticism to cause problems for opposing tackles. He can also play off-ball linebacker, which could come in handy for new Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden."

With their new No. 17 pick, the Panthers select versatile defensive lineman Mykel Williams, which further shores up the team's defensive front.

"With these two additions (Hendrickson and Williams), Carolina instantly turns what was their biggest weakness into one of their biggest strengths, with four solid edge rushers on the roster."

Hendrickson and the Bengals are working on a contract extension, but the two sides have been unable to hammer anything out and it isn't looking good in terms of them getting something done. The Bengals also granted Hendrickson permission to seek a trade.

Hendrickson would be a massive addition to Carolina's defense. The four-time Pro Bowler has more sacks the past two seasons than anyone in the NFL and is fresh off a campaign in which he finished first in the league in that category.

Not only would the Panthers have to give up draft capital for the star defender, they'd also have to ink him to an extension that figures to total $30 million or more annually.

But that would be a worthwhile move for Carolina, seeing as how its defense needs more top-tier talent in order to improve and Hendrickson definitely checks that box.

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