The Panthers Reportedly Want Multiple First Round Picks In A Christian McCaffrey Trade

The Carolina Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule this week in a move that most around the league have expected since the end of last season, as the former Baylor coach simply was not working out in professional football. With the firing of Rhule amid a 1-4 start to the season, there has been plenty of speculation that the Panthers could be open for business ahead of the trade deadline, as they enter what certainly appears to be a rebuild as they need an influx of new talent and, eventually, to find a quarterback.

The biggest name among those that could potentially be on their way out is star running back Christian McCaffrey, but to this point rumors have only gone as far as to say the Panthers will listen to offers but need to be blown away by one to trade him. As for what would reach that criteria, Fox’s Peter Schrager explained that Carolina wants “multiple” first round picks to move off of their stars like McCaffrey (or defensive tackle Derrick Brown), which is to say, McCaffrey isn’t getting moved if that price tag doesn’t change.

There have been players that have been traded for multiple firsts in recent years, but they tend to play premier positions like quarterback, offensive tackle, or defensive back. As good as McCaffrey is and as versatile a weapon as he is out of the backfield, this just is not a time in the NFL when any back is going to bring back multiple first round picks — I would, honestly, be a bit surprised if a team offered up a single first for him, but maybe that’s what the Panthers are hoping to get to by putting this kind of demand out there publicly.

As the deadline approaches, we’ll see if there’s any changes to the Panthers’ demands or if a team will at least come closer to meeting them, but for now it’s hard to see anyone making that kind of offer for McCaffrey and, as such, he seems likely to stay with the Panthers until something changes in their ask.