Panthers Look to Rhule the 2020 NFL Draft
With the 2020 NFL Draft on the horizon, it's time to get serious with some real draft talk. Although the Panthers only hold eight picks in this year's draft, they have a distinct advantage over every other team in the league: scouting.
The Panthers' three so-called "shot callers" all come from the college level. Head coach Matt Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow are coming in from Baylor and new offensive coordinator comes from the national champion, LSU.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, the NFL continues to alter their plans for the draft. Now, for the first time in the history of the draft, it will be a 100% virtual selection process, meaning that no team representatives will be on-site throughout the three-day draft and will all be done while practicing social distancing.
NFL teams were unable to hold individual meetings with draft eligible players at the rate they usually do and the majority of players were not able to perform at their respective Pro Day.
With or without a pandemic, the Panthers had an advantage by having a stronger familiarity with the players available in this draft. Add the scouting limitations on top of that and now you're talking about that distinct advantage.
When we look back on this draft four, five years from now, there will almost certainly be a ton of "misses" and not many "hits". You'll also probably see certain teams take a player way too high than they should have or take one that fell into their lap maybe a round or so later than they would have gone had they been thoroughly scouted.
It will be interesting to see how teams draft and how many teams put together a successful draft class. It would be extremely shocking to see the Panthers 2020 draft class not be one of the more successful ones, despite only having eight picks.
Who will the Panthers take in the 2020 NFL Draft? Check out our latest full seven-round mock draft projections here!
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook - @PanthersOnSI
Twitter - @SI_Panthers and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.
