The Panthers entered Friday without any draft picks in the second or third rounds. They ended up with one, creating one of the biggest headlines of the night.
The Panthers traded up to select Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral with the 94th overall choice. Carolina traded pick No. 137 in this year’s draft and a 2023 third-rounder in return.
The selection came soon after a report from Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports that talks between the Panthers and Browns about veteran quarterback Baker Mayfield, which had “heated up” earlier in the night, now are “halted.” According to Robinson, the teams were not able to come to terms on dividing up Mayfield’s $18.8 million in guaranteed money for next season.
The number of teams interested in a trade for Mayfield are dwindling.
With Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker and now Corral, the Panthers now would appear out on Mayfield.
Corral became the fourth quarterback off the board, with only Pitt’s Kenny Pickett going in the first two rounds. Desmond Ridder and Malik Willis went ahead of Corral in the third round.
Corral, 23, made 27 starts in his college career and threw 57 touchdowns and 23 interceptions.