NFL free agency mock draft predicts 39-touchdown Super Bowl champ signs with Panthers

With the eighth pick, the Carolina Panthers sign...

Oct 21, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin (14) looks on before a game against theBaltimore Ravens at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers have some enviable draft capital picking in the top 10 and owning nine total picks. They do not have enviable cap space, as they're on the lower end of the middle of the pack in terms of money they can spend on free agents.

Bleacher Report had the grand idea to merge the two. What if the draft and free agency were similar? What if the top 10 worst teams had the chance to pick from the best free agents? In that case, who would the Panthers get? Apparently, they'd go after a former Dave Canales pupil and Super Bowl champion with 39 career touchdowns through the air.

Panthers predicted to land Chris Godwin in mock free agency

Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox believes if free agency worked like the draft, the Panthers would use their eighth pick on Chris Godwin to fix wide receiver. "Using the eighth overall pick on a 29-year-old receiver who is coming off of a season-ending ankle injury might seem like a reach. It would be, but teams reach for needs all the time in the NFL draft. Why would things be any different in a free-agent draft?" Knox said.

"Targeting Chris Godwin would make sense for the Carolina Panthers for multiple reasons. The biggest is that Carolina needs to put a better supporting cast around third-year quarterback Bryce Young," he added. There's a natural fit with Dave Canales since Canales was Godwin's offensive coordinator in 2023. There's also a need since the Panthers don't have a deep wide receiver room, and Adam Thielen, 2024's leading receiver, is getting old.

The Buccaneers are reportedly interested in working something out with Godwin. He is reportedly interested in the same, which means Carolina might not even have the chance to sign him. But as of now, he's the best free agent wideout on the market, and that's what Knox thinks Carolina needs more than anything.

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