Panthers GM Reflects on Trading for Top Pick: 'I Know We Made the Right Decision'
The Carolina Panthers could have stayed put at No. 9 in the 2023 NFL Draft and prayed that one of the top quarterbacks would fall to them.
They could have made a move to get inside the top five to secure one of those guys. But that wasn't going to satisfy anyone. They know this team is on the cusp of being a legitimate threat in the NFC and are essentially a quarterback away from being just that. So, instead of making a small jump up the board, they made a quantum leap all the way up to No. 1.
An eight-spot rise in the order didn't come cheap for the Panthers as they had to give up the 9th overall pick, the 61st overall pick via San Francisco, a 2024 1st round pick, a 2025 2nd round pick, and wide receiver DJ Moore.
It was a risky move, but it's one that GM Scott Fitterer doesn't regret one bit.
"We felt strongly about a group of guys up there. And we knew this is something that we wanted to do. We wanted to be aggressive and go up and do this. I think through this process we made the right decision. I feel really good about going from nine to one. I'd hate to be at nine right now trying to figure this out. I know we made the right decision to go up there. We're going through the right process of being thorough --checking every box that we can and then the next step is going to be execution on draft day."
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