Panthers Could Trade Omar Cooper Jr. Pick to Dolphins For Draft Haul

The Carolina Panthers are, at the very least, intrigued by Omar Cooper Jr., a wide receiver prospect out of Indiana. He's a projected first-round pick at a position of need, and the Panthers hosted him on a top-30 visit.

They very well could spend the 19th pick on him. He's in play just like Dillon Thieneman, Kenyon Sadiq, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, KC Concepcion, and probably plenty of others the Panthers have on their big board.

In the latest mock draft from Bleacher Report's Moe Moton, the 19th pick is used on Cooper. It's just not the Panthers using the 19th pick.

Panthers could trade 19th pick for substantial haul of draft picks

Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (3) makes a catch for a touchdown | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There's definitely a reality where the Panthers trade down out of the 19th pick. By our estimation, there are at least five very realistic targets for the Panthers at that pick, and they could (and perhaps should) trade down a few slots to get whichever one is still standing.

Instead of choosing between KC Concepcion, Kenyon Sadiq, Dillon Thieneman, and the rest, the Panthers can trade down and let the draft board make the choice for them. Well, in Moe Moton's mock draft, they do trade down, but not for any of those prospects.

They trade the 19th pick to the Miami Dolphins, and the Dolphins use it to replace Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill with Omar Cooper Jr., giving new QB Malik Willis an actual target to throw to on offense.

The Panthers would get the following in return, all of which is in this year's draft:

1.30
3.75
4.130

This obviously gives the Panthers a lot more to work with, but it is fair to wonder whether this is enough to justify the deal. The 19th pick isn't ridiculously valuable, but the Panthers are moving down 11 spots here.

Either way, this could be beneficial for the Panthers. In a mock simulation we ran with this trade, the Panthers had their choice of the following prospects:

OT Kadyn Proctor
IDL Kayden McDonald
OT Max Iheanachor
IDL Christen Miller
EDGE Zion Young
WR Denzel Boston
LB Jacob Rodriguez
IOL Chase Bisontis
S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren

Toledo Rockets safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren (22) against the Wyoming Cowboys | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Among these, Boston and McNeil-Warren feel the most likely since they're already connected to Carolina. The Panthers hosted Boston, but McNeil-Warren would be the better pick here since Carolina already has three towering wideouts.

Would this be a better situation than staying put and picking Cooper Jr.? Probably, but perhaps not by a wide enough margin to justify missing out on the prospects that could really make a difference.

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