Carolina Panthers Interested in Acquiring 2nd Overall Pick From 49ers
Carolina Panthers' general manager Dave Gettleman is always looking for ways to trade up in the draft. He did it in the previous drafts and he is going to do it again this year. Gettleman has already shipped defensive end Kony Ealy and their 72nd overall pick to the New England Patriots to acquire the 64th overall pick, but the Panthers are still planning to move up in the draft order.
The Huddle Report's Drew Boylhart has reported that the Panthers have been talking with the San Francisco 49ers about the possibility of acquiring the second overall pick in this year's draft. He said the Panthers want to select a "big time defender" with the pick.
The Sacramento Bee's Matt Barrows also said he has heard of talk involving the two teams, but he added that he was told "there's nothing currently in the works."
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Moving from eight to second overall may not seem like much, but Gettleman has already noted that moving up in this year's draft is "gold."
The Panthers would love to get Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, but pundits believe the Cleveland Browns would select him with the first overall pick. He's the consensus number one pick in this year's draft and that probably wouldn't change in the next few weeks before the draft.
If he's off the board, the Panthers could draft either Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas or Louisiana State University's running back Leonard Fournette. But since Boylhart said they were looking for a defender, a lot of people believe they would select Thomas if they move up.
"Thomas is widely considered to be the second-best edge rusher in the 2017 NFL draft class behind Texas A&M's Myles Garrett and there's almost no chance he will still be available when the Panthers are on the clock at No. 8," Tim Weaver of Panthers Wire said in his report.
"So, if Gettleman has his sights set on Thomas and not LSU running back Leonard Fournette, it could definitely happen," he continues.
