On Tuesday, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper had a press conference addressing the state of the team. At 1-10, Carolina has the NFL’s worst record, yet doesn’t own their first-round pick for the 2024 NFL Draft. Multiple coaches were also fired recently.
During that presser, Tepper spoke on the 2023 NFL Draft, in which Carolina traded up to select Bryce Young first overall. He told the media that originally, the Panthers were going to trade for the second spot and grab Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud. Take a look below:
Panthers owner David Tepper was asked if it was true that Frank Reich wanted C.J. Stroud over Bryce Young.
"In the case of Bryce, it was almost- I believe it was a unanimous decision by the coaches and the scouts." pic.twitter.com/1AgYuNQarN
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 28, 2023
He did go on to say that they have full confidence in Bryce Young. Trading up and picking him first shows that. However, it is weird for an owner to admit that their first overall pick, a quarterback no less, wasn’t who the team was planning to get at first. David Tepper made this situation much more confusing and in trying to have his quarterback’s back made it seem like he was a fallback option.
To be clear, through Tepper’s words, Carolina traded up to first overall (THE MOST COVETED PICK IN THE DRAFT) because they couldn’t make a deal to trade for the second pick which they believed would be CJ Stroud. The number one pick, which they acquired in March, was supposedly not their first option. That’s strange, especially if his words about Young being their top prospect are true. Why would they not originally go all out for Bryce Young if they were trading up for a quarterback?
David Tepper’s Carolina Ownership Tenure Has Been Messy
David Tepper has been the Carolina Panthers owner since 2018. In that span, he has now fired three head coaches. First was Ron Rivera in 2019. Matt Rhule hit the curb last season, and earlier this week Frank Reich became the third. Rumors of Tepper being too meddling have swirled throughout the NFL landscape. That’s just off the field.
On the field, David Tepper’s Panthers are only 30-63. The current team is the fifth straight with double-digit losses, after swinging for the fences to acquire the NFL’s top draft pick. Meanwhile, Carolina had been a playoff team in four of the five seasons preceding David Tepper’s ownership. Team success is supposed to start from the top, and the Panthers have been failing for years now.
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