The Panthers, who have the first pick in the draft, have shown interest in Newton by carefully studying him at the combine, and new head coach Ron Rivera was on hand Tuesday for his pro day — skipping out on Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett's pro day in the process.
This backs up the theory that the Panthers are strongly considering Newton when the clock starts in late April. Rivera has praised Newton in the media in recent weeks, and he hovered around the Heisman winner during Tuesday's session at Auburn.
In other news, Rivera is doing his job.
The Panthers desperately need a marketable franchise quarterback, and Rivera needs to put in the work to decipher whether or not Newton fits that bill. If nothing else, Newton is the most well-known star in this draft class, and he'll sell tickets and provide some level of hope for the future. Even if Carolina fans don't believe Newton can play — it's pretty split on whether or not Newton will be any good in the NFL — the franchise can sell him to the fan base as a developmental project who can eventually take the team to a contending level.
The consensus is that Newton is far from a sure thing, but he might be the only quarterback — save for Missouri's Blaine Gabbert — who has the potential to be the No. 1 pick. And if the Panthers — or any team for that matter — deem that Newton is worthy of the top pick, it will only drive up the value of Carolina's position in the draft. In other words, it would give the Panthers a better chance to trade the pick, which they might believe is their best-case scenario at this point.
The Panthers would want to trade the pick for two main reasons. First, their roster is a mess, and they need as much help as they can get. Second, if the NFL doesn't reach a new collective-bargaining agreement in a timely fashion, it's highly unlikely that the rookie salary scale would be in place for this season, and the Panthers will want to protect themselves from shelling out a bankload of dough in that event.
Last year's top pick, quarterback Sam Bradford, received $50 million in guaranteed money, while the second pick, defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, got $40 million in guaranteed money. Even if the Panthers traded down by one spot, they'd be saving themselves about $10 million. If they trade out of the top 10, they'll save about $35 million. Since the Panthers made a string of cost-cutting moves during the 2010 offseason, there's reason to believe they'd love to free themselves from the financial ramifications of the draft's top pick.
It won't be as easy for the Panthers to unload that pick if they show more interest in a defensive player like Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley, Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers or LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson. Teams can find defensive playmakers throughout the first round of this draft and in every draft from here through eternity.
Franchise quarterbacks, though, are much more difficult to find, considering there might only be about a dozen of them in the NFL right now. So, even if the Panthers don't believe Newton is a franchise quarterback, it would at least be in their best interest to market him as one because, again, it would drive up the value of their pick in the event of a trade.
It's a nasty poker game, but when there's this much money at stake — in addition to Newton's contract, the Panthers will have to market him, and if he's a bust, they'll have to deal with the burden of another financial issue altogether — the Panthers have to play every angle with their best interest in mind.
Draft prospects hate the uncertainty of this process. One day, someone tells them they're a first-round pick. The next day, they could read something that says they're a late second-rounder. It's a tiresome stretch, and since they've got no actual control over their future home or signing bonus, it makes for a stressful time.
Newton probably isn't the most talented prospect in this class, but he could certainly be the Panthers' most valuable asset over the next seven weeks. Sincere or not, the Panthers have no choice but to treat him that way.
Should the Panthers draft Cam Newton with the first pick? Leave your thoughts below.
