Ranking the 3 Most Realistic Panthers Trades That Could Still Happen This Offseason

The Panthers could still make a handful of moves this offseason.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers are in OTAs right now, and it will quickly become clear where the faults in their roster lie. There are still opportunities to find upgrades even now, primarily through trades. Here are some we could see happening.

Picks for Daron Payne

Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne (94) stands on the field | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Panthers suddenly have a decent need for an interior lineman. With A'Shawn Robinson a former cap casualty, and Tershawn Wharton injured for a long time, the Panthers' depth up front is in shambles. Drafting Lee Hunter only helps one of those exits.

Enter Daron Payne. The Washington Commanders IDL is in a contract year and wants a new one. The Commanders may not give it. He could very well be traded, and the Panthers could be the perfect landing spot given their new need.

Draft compensation for Cole Kmet

It's not all that likely, but there's enough chatter about a Cole Kmet trade and how the Panthers make sense to consider it. The Panthers seem to be totally content with the tight end room they have, but that doesn't mean they won't consider a move like this.

Kmet would be a good addition. He'd be the immediate TE1. The simple solution is to cut Tommy Tremble, save his $4 million salary, and let Ja'Tavion Sanders and Mitchell Evans continue to develop behind Kmet until he hits free agency.

That would be an ideal outcome, good enough for the Panthers to consider it if the Bears make Kmet available. Post June 1, he becomes easier to move, so that could coincide with the Panthers deciding at OTAs that they need an upgrade.

Xavier Legette for a draft pick

This is probably the most realistic trade yet, but it hinges on a few things. First, Xavier Legette can't have shown much improvement in OTAs. That's probably going to happen, but he was a late bloomer in college and could be a late developer in the NFL, in theory.

Second, John Metchie, Chris Brazzell, or someone else needs to be good enough to be a viable WR3. After that, having someone like Legette as WR4 or lower is not really all that useful. Third, the Panthers would have to believe Legette won't get better.

If those three things happen, then there is a good chance the Panthers will finally bite the bullet. Dan Morgan has been good at extracting value from underwhelming or unproductive receivers, so he could get something for him.