The 33rd Team Mock Draft 3.0 Features the Panthers Striking a Deal with Lions

Carolina goes up and gets its guy.

Here in just a couple of weeks, the Carolina Panthers along with the other 31 NFL franchises will be in Indianapolis for the 2023 NFL Combine. There, GM Scott Fitterer and new head coach Frank Reich will get to evaluate this year's top college prospects up close and in person with their eyes fixated on the quarterbacks.

Carolina currently holds the 9th overall pick in the draft but in all likelihood, they're going to have to move up if they want to select "their guy". And that's exactly what The 33rd Team projects the Panthers to do in their latest mock draft, making a deal with the Lions for the 6th overall pick to select Kentucky QB Will Levis.

"New coach Frank Reich mentioned the Panthers needed to upgrade the quarterback position in his opening press conference. Will Levis gives him a young, talented passer to groom for the future of this franchise."

Levis spent the first two years of his career as the backup at Penn State before transferring to Kentucky, where he developed into a first round talent. In those two seasons with the Wildcats, Levis completed 65.7% of his pass attempts and threw for 5,232 yards and 43 touchdowns. He also rushed for 269 yards and eleven scores.

"I think you've got to have conviction," Scott Fitterer said when asked about the possibility of moving up to draft a QB. "If there's a guy in this class that you like, you got to go up and go get him. We're in a position now where we have a defense, we have an offensive line. We built around this for this opportunity. So if you have conviction, go get him. If not, you don't want to force it. You don't want to take a player and pass on a really good player, that might set you back. But you can't be afraid to take a shot if you believe that's the guy."

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