McCaffrey trade impacts Panthers’ ability to rebuild offense – Carolina Panthers Blog

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer spent the offseason trying to build a roster capable of challenging for a championship if he dropped the right quarterback into the mix like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did with Tom Brady in 2020.

“I think we’re a lot closer this year than we have been the last year or two,’’ Fitterer said during the offseason.

Defensively, it’s getting there.

Offensively, it’s not close.

If anything, it’s been a complete fail.

But getting there in the next couple of years may be more realistic after Thursday’s trade of running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers that netted three 2023 draft picks (second-, third- and fourth-rounders) and one in 2024 (fifth round) to give Fitterer the maneuverability to draft a quarterback with a top pick next year.

“There’s a lot on defense to build with,’’ Fitterer said on Friday. “We’ve rebuilt the offensive line, which is the most important thing when you’re bringing in a young quarterback. … We’re still building moving forward where we can drop that quarterback in and go.’’

In other words, the experiment to drop 2018 No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield into this year’s lineup didn’t work and the Panthers will likely focus on a strong 2023 quarterback draft class led by Kentucky’s Will Levis, Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud to save the day.

To be clear, quarterback play hasn’t been the only problem during their 1-5 start, which makes this more of a rebuild than a simple fix. And beyond players, the Panthers likely will have to hire an entirely new coaching staff to replace Matt Rhule, who was fired, because interim coach Steve Wilks doesn’t have enough talented players to have the “incredible” showing owner David Tepper said he would want to see in order for Wilks to shed the “interim” tag.

Heading into Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers (1 p.m. ET, Fox), the rebuilt offensive line ranks 30th in…