Last week, Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer seemed to be convinced that the Panthers had settled on Cam Newton as the player who’ll be taken with the top pick in the draft.
Now, Steve Reed of CarolinaGrowl.com writes that support for Newton has diminished, with the “current odds-on favorites” being quarterback Blaine Gabbert and defensive tackle Marcel Dareus.
So what does any of it mean? It means that the Panthers are wisely keeping their options wide open, possibly in the hopes of being able to trade down a few spots and draft the best player who falls to them and then claim that he’s the guy they would have taken at No. 1.
And it would make sense for the Panthers to trade down. They’ve got plenty of needs, and if they can rack up more picks they can fill more holes.