The Carolina Panthers have had five different leading passers over each of the last five seasons. None of them panned out. 

From Cam Newton (the waning years), to Kyle Allen, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold and finally Baker Mayfield, it's been a real slog. The Panthers have tried in their quest to find a QB to lead the team on another run similar to the glory seasons of 2013-17, when they went to the playoffs four times in five years, including a Super Bowl berth. But it just hasn't worked.

So a massive pre-draft trade by Carolina secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, ensuring they get the QB they want this time around. 

Bookies.com oddsmaker Adam Thompson has used his resources of NFL contacts developed over 20 years covering the league and the NFL Draft to create his hypothetical NFL futures odds on who gets selected first by the Carolina Panthers in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

Who Will The Panthers Take In 2023 NFL Draft?

Carolina is available around +5500 to win Super Bowl 58 on NFL betting markets. Last year at this time its Super Bowl odds were +10000. This team is trending in the right direction.

The Panthers were impressively proactive, sending a king's ransom of picks, plus star WR D.J. Moore, to the Chicago Bears. In exchange, Carolina can select anyone it wants at No. 1 overall - presumably its QB of the future. 

The Panthers realized nobody who played QB last year for the team was going to be a long-term solution. Mayfield and Darnold each started six games for the Panthers, and P.J. Walker started the other five. Darnold (92.6 QB rating) was the only one who was even semi-competent (Walker was at 78.0 and Mayfield 74.4, two of the bottom three marks in 2022). 

None of them are under contract for 2023, allowing for another reset at the game’s most important position. Matt Corral, last year’s third-round pick, missed all of last season (foot injury) and is the current QB1 on the depth chart. 

The Panthers originally owned the No. 9 pick but would have had to defer to other QB-needy teams above them, such as the Houston Texans (No. 2), Indianapolis Colts (No. 4) and Las Vegas Raiders (No. 7), and perhaps even the Atlanta Falcons (No. 8). 

The Panthers, along with the Texans and Colts, were the teams reportedly most interested in acquiring the No. 1 pick from the Bears, who were open to trading it. Carolina offered Chicago a package it just couldn't refuse.  

C.J. Stroud Odds To join The Panthers 

The general consensus was the Panthers were targeting Anthony Richardson at No. 9. The Florida product comes out of the draft with the least amount of experience and the most questions about his passing acumen, but also with some of the best tangibles of any QB in recent memory. Richardson may be worth the least amount of wins right out of the gate, but he could own the highest ceiling.

But now that they're at No. 1, plans change. There are other QBs in the picture with higher credentials. C.J. Stroud of Ohio State or Bryce Young of Alabama were long expected to be the first two QBs off the board before Richardson had a standout showing at the NFL Combine. Of those two, Stroud is the one Panthers brass has reportedly right there with Richardson atop their board. 

QB coach Josh McCown compared Stroud to Joe Burrow; that’s a good indication they’d be ecstatic to land him. With the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, they can. 

Strong-armed Kentucky QB Will Levis has been linked to Carolina as well, though with the No. 1 overall pick now secured, it appears to be a three-QB race (excluding Levis). 

Complete list of Panthers 2023 Draft Picks

• Round 1 (Pick 1)
• Round 2 (Pick 39)
• Round 3 (Pick 93, from SF)
• Round 4 (Pick 114)
• Round 4 (Pick 132, from SF)
• Round 5 (Pick 145)

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