Panthers officially hold No. 1 pick in 2011 NFL Draft

Now Panthers fans must wait until Jan. 15 to find out if Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck enters the draft.

The Panthers traded the first pick in the second round of the 2011 draft to the Patriots in order to select defensive end Everette Brown athlete (?) Armanti Edwards this year. Carolina also traded its seventh round pick in order to take long snapper J.J. Jansen.

Unless it is traded, this is the highest pick in franchise history for the Panthers. In 2002, the team had the second overall pick in the draft and selected defensive end Julius Peppers.

The Panthers held the first overall pick in the 1995 draft, but traded it to Cincinnati. The Bengals selected running back Ki-Jana Carter. Carolina received the fifth and 36th overall picks, choosing quarterback Kerry Collins and defensive tackle Shawn King.The last draft-day trade involving the No. 1 pick came in 2004. San Diego selected quarterback Eli Manning and traded him turned out to be quarterback Phillip Rivers, linebacker Shawne Merriman and kicker Nate Kaeding.

Carolina drafted quarterback Jimmy Clausen in the second round of this year’s draft. Some think he should be given a chance next season. On the season, Clausen is completing 51.9 percent of his passes for 1,376 yards, 2 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.