Panthers Should Trade Up with AFC Squad for Caleb Downs or Sonny Styles

The Carolina Panthers aren't going to be able to draft one of the elite defensive prospects. This draft has several incredible defenders who are going to populate the early picks. The Panthers just can't get any of them.

Rueben Bain Jr., Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, David Bailey, Caleb Downs, and Mansoor Delane may all be top-10 picks. The Panthers pick 19th, so they'll miss out on a true game-changer for their defense.

That is, if they stay put. They pick 19th, but GM Dan Morgan has been aggressive in moving up and down the draft board in his two seasons. And, a potential trade partner just confirmed they're open to moving down.

Browns open to trading down, Panthers could move up and snag elite defender

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive back Caleb Downs catches a ball during Pro Day | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns moved down from two to five last year and got a pretty good return, including the Jacksonville Jaguars' 2026 first-round pick. This year, GM Andrew Berry admitted he's open to moving down from six.

Via Cleveland.com, he said, “I don’t know that (we’ll find a trade partner), but I would tell you guys, I don’t know that we’re going to be picking six at the end of April, and if we are picking six, I have no idea what we’re going to take at this point.”

Now, the cost to do this sort of deal would be exorbitant, especially since there's a baseline for the Browns moving down. They only moved down three picks, so moving down 13 would be a difficult one for the Panthers to pull off.

But if they do, they'd have so many incredible prospects at their disposal. Arvell Reese, David Bailey, Jeremiyah Love, Fernando Mendoza, and probably Francis Mauigoa will be off the board, but that leaves plenty of excellent options:

S Caleb Downs
LB Sonny Styles
CB Mansoor Delane
EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.
WR Carnell Tate

Among these, Styles and Downs make the most sense. Downs is possibly the best prospect in this class, but positional value and a potentially worrisome knee injury might tank his value.

Linebacker Sonny Styles (0) gets into position during the 2025 Cotton Bowl | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Styles, on the other hand, is a riser. His combine proved that he has unrivaled athleticism, and his game tape showed a smart linebacker who didn't miss a single tackle until Ohio State's final season.

If the Panthers do get in this situation, they should probably pick Downs. He would be a much bigger upgrade over Nick Scott than Styles would be over Trevin Wallace, but they can't go wrong with either one in this hypothetical.