In his previous stint as General Manager of the Carolina Panthers, Marty Hurney twice traded a first-round pick in the following year’s NFL Draft to make sizable leaps up in the draft order. Back in the G.M. seat again, Hurney swears that he will not make that mistake again.
“I can tell you right now that you can consider next year’s first-round pick safe,” Hurney said, via Steve Reed of the Associated Press. "... We will probably be getting calls, so if you can just tweet that out.”
The Panthers traded second- and fourth-round picks in 2008 and the team’s 2009 first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in order to jump up from No. 43 overall to No. 19 overall. Hurney selected tackle Jeff Otah with the freshly acquired pick.
The very next year Hurney went back to the well, trading the team’s 2010 first-round selection to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for the No. 43 overall pick and No. 111 pick in the 2009 draft. Carolina selected defensive end Everette Brown and running back Mike Goodson with their new picks.
Otah played in just 29 career games as knee injuries ended his career after only four seasons. Brown lasted just two seasons with the Panthers and started just three games over that span. He recorded six sacks combined in his two years with Carolina. Goodson lasted three years with the Panthers as a reserve running back and kick returner.