Mel Kiper Jr., Todd McShay give new intel on quarterbacks, Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers will not select a quarterback with the No. 6 overall pick Thursday night during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, according to Todd McShay. A lot of speculation saw either Pittsburgh‘s Kenny Pickett or Liberty‘s Malik Willis coming off the board for the Panthers, but that might not be the case anymore.

McShay gives the likelihood of the Panthers taking a quarterback at around 10 percent. His sources have told him that Carolina likes offensive tackle Charles Cross out of Mississippi State, which means there is potential the Panthers trade out of the sixth spot altogether and stick with Sam Darnold for at least one more season.

“The bottom line is from six to eight with Atlanta, Seattle at nine — none of those teams are taking quarterbacks, according to what I’m hearing,” McShay said. “So the first quarterback off the board, if there’s no trades for a quarterback, could be at 20 with Pittsburgh. If they take Malik Willis, Tennessee is the only team between 20 and 32 that really could take a quarterback in this draft class. So it’s not that far out of the realm of possibility that Pickett is sitting there at 32.”

Mel Kiper Jr. feels differently, though. If the Panthers don’t trade out of the No. 6 slot, it’s their best chance to draft a quarterback this draft cycle and believes Willis is the man for Carolina to select. Kiper backed this claim up with his final player rankings, having Willis land at No. 17 and Pickett at No. 18. Cross, who McShay believes the Panthers may select, comes in at Kiper’s No. 12 overall prospect.

“Unless the Panthers trade down here, they won’t have any picks on the second day of the draft,” Kiper said. “This is their chance to get a quarterback. Willis is more talented than Kenny Pickett.”

Despite this, Pickett passed Alex Van Pelt in 2021 to become Pitt’s career leader in passing yards (12,303 to 11,267); he also passed Dan Marino in last season to become the school’s career leader in touchdown passes (81 to 79). If Carolina pulls the trigger, Pickett would be the first Pitt quarterback selected in the first round since Marino in 1983 to Miami and would be the fourth quarterback drafted from the school since Marino.

Our questions will be answered shortly after the draft begins, as the Panthers, as of now, are set to make their selection with the No. 6 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. The event will begin at 8 p.m. ET Thursday night live from Las Vegas.