The Carolina Panthers are on the clock. With the Broncos and Bengals winning, the Panthers loss on Thursday night confirms that they hold the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft. The name you'll hear often in the coming months is Stanford QB Andrew Luck. He's considered the top quarterback in the draft and if you're picking No. 1, there's a decent shot you need a quarterback.
2011 NFL Draft: No. 1 Pick Goes To Carolina Panthers; Andrew Luck On Radar?
The Panthers could use a quarterback...kind of. They spent a second round pick on Jimmy Clausen in the 2010 NFL draft so there's a legitimate argument that they would go another direction with the No. 1 pick if they decide Clausen is the future moving forward.
However, Clausen has hardly locked the job up. In 12 games, he completed less than 52 percent of his passes for 1,376 yards, two touchdowns and eight interceptions. Whether Clausen is the man or not is a question the Panthers will have to answer by the end of April.
Luck is expected to declare for the draft but that’s not necessarily a given, especially considering the current climate on the labor front. If the NFL enters a lockout, would Luck think about returning to school?
What’s also facing the Panthers is the possibility of a new coaching staff. Most folks don’t expect John Fox to return to Carolina which means the task of the first pick in the 2011 NFL draft will fall to a new regime. If that’s the case, then we’ll have to wait until the new folks are hired before realistically predicting which way they go.
SB Nation’s Mocking The Draft has the run down of the Panthers history with the top pick:
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.
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