The Carolina Panthers had a lot of work after a disastrous 2023 season that saw them finish with the league’s worst record at 2-15. Usually, the team with the worst record would wind up with the number one overall pick to help kickstart their rebuild for next season.
But the Panthers traded that away to the Chicago Bears as part of the package that landed them Bryce Young. That has looked like a disastrous trade so far, but Carolina has been very active finding any way to improve their team.
One move they’ve made so far has been great. That would be trading for former Pittsburgh Steeler wide receiver Diontae Johnson. But the Panthers also traded away Brian Burns. Those two deals signify Carolina’s best and worst moves to start free agency.
Best move: trading for Diontae Johnson
The biggest and most glaring need on the Panthers’ roster was a wide receiver who can get open. None of Young’s receivers could consistently give him windows to throw the ball to.
To add to that, Carolina wide receivers generated just 1.9 yards of separation for Young last season, via playerprofiler.com. It was a big reason why Young averaged a paltry 5.5 yards per attempt and 7.6 air yards per attempt.
Enter Diontae Johnson. Johnson is one of the best route runners in the NFL and has a penchant for getting open. Though his 1.63 yards of separation weren’t spectacular last season, his 1.76 and 1.89 marks the two previous are quite solid on an individual level.
Adam Thielen was a fine slot player for the Panthers last season, even though roughly half of his season-long production came in the span of four weeks. But Carolina got nothing in the intermediate to downfield game from the likes of DJ Chark and rookie Jonathan Mingo.
Johnson should immediately step in and produce as the Panthers’ number-one receiver. And all the Panthers had to give up to get him was cornerback Donte Jackson and a swap from a sixth-round pick to a seventh. This was a home run trade for Carolina.
Worst move: trading away Brian Burns
If the trade for Johnson was considered a home run, then the deal Carolina made by sending Brian Burns to the New York Giants was a bunt that the opposing team’s catcher caught. The Panthers ended up dishing him for a second and fifth-round pick.
The Giants, the team that traded for Burns, essentially got the same package from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Leonard Williams, another edge rusher who can also play in the interior of the defensive line.
This trade is more about how badly the Panthers botched the value of Burns. A year ago, the Panthers turned down two first-round picks and a second-round for their star pass rusher at the 2022 trade deadline. The Panthers held onto him and won just seven games in that span.
Between that trade rejection and the trade they made for the 2022 number one overall pick, Carolina has let a massive load of draft capital walk out of their building.
Asset mismanagement doesn’t get as bad as this. Carolina royally botched their situation with Burns and are paying the price for it. Getting what they could for Burns is fine, but they should’ve been much more proactive in trading him away if they were never going to give him the contract extension he was looking for.
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