Three to Four Teams Are 'Serious' About Trading Up to No. 6

There is some genuine interest around the league in trading up to the Panthers' spot. How far are they willing to go back?

The biggest question surrounding the Carolina Panthers and the No. 6 pick may not be what position they plan to draft at that spot, but whether or not they will even make the pick. Considering the Panthers don't have a second or third round pick, they could be willing to move back to recoup some of those day two picks. However, it has to be the right situation. They won't be moving back just to move back, according to general manager Scott Fitterer.

"We're not going to be so focused on recouping those picks because we look at CJ Henderson as our third round pick this year. We don't want to make the mistake of just moving around, moving around. So, if there's a good player there, we'll pick him," Fitterer said. "As far as future draft capital, absolutely. You want to protect those picks. A lot of the conversations I've had with other teams over the last week has been 'hey, do you want to give up something next year in two or three to move up this year. And my answer to that has been no. We want to protect those picks, they're very valuable to us."

Much of what the Panthers will do will depend on how the board falls in front of them. If the quarterback they like is gone or there is a run of offensive tackles, they may look to move back. Fitterer has already fielded several calls from teams who are interested in trading up and notes that there are a few that are genuinely wanting to get a deal done. 

"There's always a lot of communication. We may talk to 15-20 teams prior to the draft. That doesn't mean everybody is going to move up. I think there's a handful of teams maybe three to four that are really serious about it. We're just keeping all of our options open, it's definitely something that we're going to look into. But if there's a good player there at six, we're just going to stay there and pick the player. We have several players on our board that help us get to six, so if there's a good player we'll stay there and pick. Without having a second or third round pick we're going to keep all options open."

When deciding to move back, you have to draw a red line. You don't want to go back past a certain spot in the first round or else you will miss out on a taking a player that can have an immediate impact. For Fitterer, that line has historically been between 15-17. This year, it's between 18-19 which is about as far back as Fitterer will go. Sorry, Pittsburgh. 

"I think the comfort level would be really in the teens. This is a large group, a unique group between that 25-50 range there are a lot of good players that are foundation-type players. You want to be disciplined not trading out of those levels, but I think the teens, if I had to put a number on it, that would probably be the most comfortable spot but you just have to weigh what's on the table at the time."

I, for one, don't expect the Panthers to trade out of that spot. As I've stated numerous times, there is going to be a really good player there at six, plus, they're not going to feel as pressed to get those day two picks back when they selected 11 players in last year's draft. Well, that's at least was what I was told and on Tuesday, Fitterer confirmed that frame of mind.

"It's a really good point. The whole idea is we have some guys that we drafted last year, we're going to keep developing those guys. The pure volume does help with out depth. Obviously every year we want to add many more players and we're going to try and do that this year."

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