Panthers mailbag: Likelihood of a trade for Bengals’ Higgins? Better off with Stroud?

The Panthers are the bottom-feeders of the NFC South through two weeks. Rookie quarterback Bryce Young hasn’t been electric, and the offense has been in a constant state of slumber.

So, naturally, Panthers fans have questions about their slumping team. That’s why The Observer brings out the weekly mailbag to answer their questions.

Here are some standout questions from social media for our mailbag:

Andre asks: What’s the likelihood of us trading for Hunter Renfrow or Tee Higgins?

Mike Kaye: The Panthers badly need a wideout who can separate. While Renfrow would be somewhat redundant in an offense that features Adam Thielen, Tee Higgins would be the ultimate get for a unit that needs a major wake-up call.

The issue for the Panthers is that they don’t have much to trade in the way of draft picks for Higgins. They are without their 2024 first-round pick and 2025 second-round pick due to the trade up for the first overall pick, which led to Young’s selection. So, the Panthers would need to be creative in a potential trade for Higgins, who is looking for a big long-term contract in the final year of his rookie deal.

The Bengals are also 0-2, so unless they feel like they can make a quick turnaround, acquiring other veterans for the wideout might not make logistical sense for them.

If the Panthers were to trade their 2024 second-round pick (and more) for Higgins, they’d need to agree to a contract extension with the wideout. They’d also be without their top two picks in the draft, which at this point look like they’ll be very high in each round. The Panthers have a good amount of cap space next year, but very little in the way of draft capital, and good teams are the ones who develop talent.

Perhaps the Panthers could find a way to lessen the draft pick allocation in a trade by offering up someone like linebacker Frankie Luvu or defensive back Jeremy Chinn — both in the last year of their respective contracts — in a swap for a wideout. But the Panthers aren’t one player away, and trading future assets seems like an antithetical approach for a new coaching staff with a collaborative front office.

If things go super sour, maybe the Panthers reexamine the Brian Burns trade market with the pass rusher no longer actively focused on a contract extension. Then, if Burns is hypothetically dealt for a (hopefully?) massive return, Carolina can try to improve the offense.

A lot of the front office’s gambles have failed thus far. It’s only two games into the season, but fans aren’t going to be patient after three years of frustration from the previous regime, which included the holdover GM and his front office crew.

Kurt asks: Jeremy Chinn playing only 27 of 77 snaps — he’s gone after this year isn’t he?

MK: Chinn went from playing 73% of the defensive snaps against the Falcons to playing 35% against the Saints. But those numbers are kind of misleading, as the Panthers’ defense only played 52 snaps against Atlanta, but played 77 snaps against New Orleans. Chinn played 35 snaps in Week 1 and 27 snaps in Week 2. That’s an eight-snap difference.

The Saints dropped back a lot more than the Falcons, so the Panthers went with their regular nickel group in coverage. Troy Hill played 36 snaps (47%) as a result. The Panthers’ defensive staff probably didn’t want to expose Chinn in coverage, and losing Shaq Thompson in the first quarter likely factored into the nickel rotation.

That said, Chinn has always been an unusual fit within this defense. He’s kind of a man without a home, despite the staff’s constant praise of him. While Burns’ name will be thrown around with trade rumors before the deadline, Chinn should probably be right there with him.

In the final year of his deal, Chinn could presumably net the Panthers a Day 3 pick on trade market if they decide to move on before free agency and pass up the opportunity for a compensatory pick in 2025.

Ferguson asks: Too early to say we should have taken CJ Stroud?

MK: Yes. While Stroud has done a nice job so far, it’s hard to really give up on Young after just two games. Stroud has avoided interceptions and looked relatively competent in his first two outings, while Young’s performances have lacked any sort of special quality. However, it’s early and teams are starting to collect tape on both players.

Young has made some sound choices in the pocket, but his supporting cast has done little to help him out. The coaching staff needs to do a better job of calling plays that get receivers open and offer up quick opportunities for the passing game.

Young doesn’t need to be a home-run hitter in Year 1, but he does need to find outlets quicker. So far, he’s been too patient in the pocket, and the offensive line can’t block for six to eight seconds for 20 plays a game. Young was drafted first overall because of his quick processing ability, but so far, there’s been nothing quick about his game.

Top picks typically get a couple of years to prove themselves and their worth. It’s been listless thus far, but the evaluation process isn’t even close to the finish line. Young has occasionally flashed impressive intangibles through two weeks — he simply needs help around him to find consistency.

Patience isn’t easy, especially after the past three years, but rushing to judgment on Young right now isn’t the right move.

Luke asks: Hindsight is always 20/20. Looking at the lack of weapons, would the Panthers be in a better spot now with current group and transactions or with Steve Wilks, Sam Darnold, and waiting on the 2024 QB class while holding on to guys like D.J. Moore and D’Onta Foreman?

MK: Doesn’t it feel like it’s been ages since Wilks, Darnold, Moore and Foreman were leading an overachieving group to a 7-10 record?

In regards to keeping Wilks, I think that would have been a logical move. I also think hiring Reich made sense in the wake of the Matt Rhule era.

Teams can overachieve with an interim coach retooling the direction on a temporary basis, but there isn’t a whole lot of history with long-term NFL success from an interim carryover.

Wilks did a legitimately incredible job last season, as this team probably should have won four games in 2022. But I don’t think the organizational thinking, whether Wilks was retained or not, was to wait things out for another draft for the quarterback. Trading up to the No. 1 pick is a complete organizational approach so owner David Tepper and GM Scott Fitterer probably would have been aggressive in getting their guy at quarterback, one way or another.

The Panthers won in the second half of last season with a run-heavy approach. Maybe that would have been more nurturing for a rookie quarterback. But it’s hard to know how the system would have changed when Wilks would have hired his new offensive coordinator.

I think continuity is really important, and Wilks would have kept more familiar faces in town, but I don’t think the players who were dropped — outside of Moore — were particularly good or worthy of trotting out for another year. Darnold is the backup to Brock Purdy in San Francisco, while Foreman was a healthy scratch in Week 2 for the Bears.

Even with the hindsight of two games, I’m not really sure what the right answer would be. Moore was terrific but the Bears are 0-2, and he never made the playoffs in Carolina. Wilks was forced to take a defensive coordinator job instead of a head coach gig, despite his impressive performance last season. It’s not like anyone else in the league found the formula for success from the Panthers’ late run in 2022.

Still, had the Panthers been patient with Wilks and the quarterback position, they might have had a rosier outlook for 2024 and beyond. But there’s no way of knowing how that would have played out this offseason.