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The Panthers were among a number of teams competing for Matthew Stafford before the Lions agreed to trade him in for the Rams, but the reports of what the Panthers offered are dazzling.
Carolina offered the first round this year, No. 8 overall and more, according to Albert Breer of SI.com and Ian Rapoport from NFL Network.
With such an offer, it is surprising that the Lions would take the Rams’ offer of a third round for 2021, 2022 first round, 2023 first round, and Jared Goff. The Rams’ picks in 2022 and 2023 are likely to be later in the first round than number 8 overall, and teams almost always prioritize having choices this year over having them in the future. If the Lions really wanted to make first-round picks in the coming years, they could have gotten them by trading for the Panthers’ No. 8 overall pick, as well as the Lions’ own No. 7 overall pick.
The Rams were eager to get rid of Goff’s contract, and Lions General Manager Brad Holmes, who was with the Rams during Goff’s tenure, likes him so much that he sees Goff even with his expensive salary cap for the next two seasons, as positive asset. But with a Top 10 pick on offer in 2021, it’s surprising the Lions preferred Goff and the Rams’ pack of picks instead.