The Carolina Panthers are sold on the players expected to be selected at the top of the 2023 NFL Draft, general manager Scott Fitterer told reporters Monday. Still, he gave no indiction as to whom the team will select next month with the No. 1 overall pick, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Bears.
Fitterer apparently liked what he saw of the players at the recent NFL Scouting Combine -- the Panthers presumably will draft a quarterback -- enough to give the Bears a pair of first-round picks, two-second rounders and wide receiver D.J. Moore to move up from the No. 9 slot.
"At the combine, I said, ‘If you're gonna go up, you better have conviction.' And we have conviction on players at that top, that we feel good about," Fitterer said.
He said no decision has been made as to whether the Panthers will take former Alabama QB Bryce Young, ex-Ohio State QB C.J. Shroud or someone else.
"Yeah, we're still going through the process right now," he said. "Obviously, we have our ideas. You're not gonna make a move like that without having that pretty much cemented. But now, we're going through the process of talking to the players and really getting to know them."
The Panthers will be at the pro days for all four of the top QBs in the coming weeks -- Stroud, Young, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson.
The Panthers signed 12-year veteran Andy Dalton to serve as a mentor to a young quarterback.
"Obviously, I've played a ton of ball; there's a lot that can come from that," Dalton told the team's website. "I started as a rookie; a lot will come from that. There's a lot I've done in my career, a ton of experience I can bring to help that room."
Dalton, 35, was 6-8 as a starter last season for the New Orleans Saints.
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