https://www.panthers.com/news/grill-bill-after-not-drafting-safety-who-now-the-favorite
Website submission from Keith in Charlotte: Why would we waste a 3rd-round pick on a quarterback when we already have a franchise quarterback?
Plenty of you got upset at me last weekend for arguing for this, but I struggle to understand the uproar.
Well, I do in a way. It’s almost impossible to have cordial conversations when it comes to quarterbacks. But to me, this was easy.
The last time we saw Cam Newton, he was not well. Then he underwent his second shoulder procedure in the past three years. Obviously, the best case scenario is he returns to the Newton of old and Will Grier never sees the field unless it’s the preseason or mop-up duty.
I get it’s tough to stomach – passing on a position of need like safety for a guy who, hopefully, won’t play. But the Panthers had to at least try to improve their backup options at THE MOST IMPORTANT POSITION IN SPORTS.
Sure, Kyle Allen looked great against the Saints. But that was one game. It’s impossible to know if he'd be a dependable backup if the Panthers ever need one. You can say the same about Grier, and if you're somehow already convinced he won't be a good pro, OK. But I’m completely cool with throwing a quarterback dart at pick 100.
I also get the concern about how some in the fan base will react if/when Newton shows any signs of struggling while a draft pick sits on the bench. It's a shame a certain segment will continue to root for him to fail, but you can't let stuff like that affect a prudent football decision.
I usually avoid using quotes in this space, but few around the league offer as reasonable perspective as Greg Olsen. So if you don’t buy what I’m selling, here’s what he said when I asked him for his reaction to the Grier pick the other day:
“I don’t think anybody has any false sense of who our quarterback is. I think that’s pretty clear. But to get a young guy to develop – we’ve seen it happen with other teams. You never know what the future holds, and you see teams with star quarterbacks draft guys and develop them. You can never have enough good guys at an (important) position.”