Not once in the history of the franchise have the Carolina Panthers drafted a player from Clemson.
In all likelihood that is just one of those odd coincidences, although with the Panthers now having been in the league for more than two decades, some fans think it’s a little more than a statistical anomaly.
However, there is growing optimism that Carolina is gearing up to make a run at Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, one of the most prominent players to come through the Clemson program.
It’s obvious the Panthers are intent on making an upgrade at the quarterback position before next season. They have been in on most of the trade talk involving every available veteran quarterback since the season ended, and have been making moves in an effort to free up cap space.
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The Panthers have cut several players this month, creating some cap space that they’d love to spend on Deshaun Watson. Carolina’s moves in the last week have c…
Field Yates, of ESPN, says the Panthers aggressive pursuit of a veteran quarterback has him thinking that if Watson does indeed get moved, Carolina will be the landing spot.
“I’ve been on record forecasting Watson to Miami,” Yates said. “But recently my tenor has changed with more support from the Dolphins for Tua Tagovailoa and the Panthers’ previous aggressive pursuit of Matthew Stafford.”
The Texans have maintained that they have no interest in trading the former Clemson quarterback, despite the fact that Watson has officially requested a trade and that the animosity between him and the organization seems to be growing with each passing week.
“Houston has no interest in trading him away right now, but we know this has already been ugly,” Yates said. “If you ultimately trade away a franchise quarterback, moving him to a team you play once every four years is preferred to an in-conference foe (assuming the offers are comparable).”
One thing that isn’t up for debate, and that is if Houston does eventually trade Watson, the asking price will be steep. ESPN’s David Newton recently said he thought that it could take as much as three first round picks, as well as running back Christian McCaffery, for the Panthers to land Watson. Although, he was quick to point out that was just his thoughts and not an actual “report.”
