The Panthers have not shied away from making splashy trades over the past two seasons.
They traded Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers. They traded D.J. Moore and a bevy of picks for the 2023 No. 1 pick, which would be Bryce Young. And on Monday, they sent Brian Burns to the Giants for another package of picks.
Surely, at a certain point they've come out on top of these deals, right? Well, it's hard to see it that way. The Panthers, fully in rebuilding mode are left without many high draft picks and face an uncertain future with Young, who struggled mightily in his rookie season. Though the Burns trade has been in the books for a day, it still is a swap that appears to contribute to a lopsided track record of coming out on the wrong end of deals.
And Panthers' fans have taken notice of the recent history. Just ask country music star Luke Combs.
.@Panthers WHAT ARE WE DOING?!?!? No first round pick for McCaffrey a few years back and now none for Burns?!?! Are we just fire bombing the whole team here or what? I usually don’t comment on these kinds of things but it’s just becoming slow torture at this point.
— Luke Combs 🎤 (@lukecombs) March 12, 2024
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How have the Panthers fared in these deals? Here's a look back at the trades and what Carolina has received.
Panthers draft picks
For a rebuilding team, most of the deals the Panthers have made have involved more picks than players. Here's a look back at each trade:
Christian McCaffrey trade
49ers receive:
- RB Christian McCaffrey
Panthers receive:
- 2023 second-round pick
- 2023 third-round pick
- 2023 fourth-round pick
- 2024 fifth-round pick
Bryce Young trade
Bears receive:
- WR D.J. Moore
- 2023 first-round pick
- 2023 second-round pick
- 2024 first-round pick
- 2025 second-round pick
Panthers receive:
- 2023 first-round pick
Brian Burns trade
Giants receive:
- EDGE Brian Burns
Panthers receive:
- 2024 second-round pick
- 2025 fifth-round pick
Total trades
Teams receive:
- RB Christian McCaffrey
- EDGE Brian Burns
- WR D.J. Moore
- 2023 first-round pick (DT Jalen Carter, Eagles)
- 2023 second-round pick (TE Brenton Strange, Jaguars)
- 2024 first-round pick
- 2025 second-round pick
Panthers receive:
- 2023 first-round pick (QB Bryce Young)
- 2023 third-round pick (TE Darnell Washington, Steelers)
- 2023 fourth-round pick (LB Nick Herbig, Steelers)
- 2024 second-round pick
- 2024 fifth-round pick
- 2025 fifth-round pick
If you're keeping track at home, that's two Pro Bowlers, one 1,000-yard receiver, two firsts and two seconds for one first, one second (the one acquired from McCaffrey was traded to the Bears), one third, one fourth and one fifth.
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Three of the picks Carolina received, the Panthers have since traded. the second-round pick for McCaffrey was sent to the Bears, who then traded the pick to the Jaguars. The Panthers' third- and fourth-round picks from the McCaffrey trade were both sent to Pittsburgh as Carolina traded up to acquire linebacker D.J. Johnson.
The trades sting a bit all the more with that first-round pick the Panthers traded to the Bears wound up becoming a first overall pick a year later.
As if it couldn't get any worse, there's also knowing the Panthers opted to keep Burns for another year rather than trade him before 2023. The Rams reportedly offered a 2024 first, 2025 first and a 2023 second for Burns in 2022, according to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones. Instead, Burns went for a 2024 second and 2025 fifth. That's a massive dropoff.
The Panthers are in the midst of a large rebuild. They have their franchise quarterback, but to get him, it cost a star wide receiver who could have been an asset for that QB in his first year. They've also now watched the league's best running back and one of the best edge rushers in the league depart for returns that have since been minimized by further trades.
Having first-round picks accelerates the rebuild, and the Panthers have missed out on a lot of those early picks. Carolina has in essence lost four first-round picks by not trading Burns to the Rams and by opting to trade up for Young. That's a lot of capital lost.
Perhaps the trades will wind up working out well in the long term for Carolina. But as things stand, Panthers' fans — including Combs — certainly have a lot about which to be upset.
