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Should the Carolina Panthers go for a quarterback with the seventh overall pick in this month's NFL Draft?
It's a conundrum.
First of all, there is a chance that there won't be any quarterbacks worth a top-10 selection on the board when the Panthers' pick comes up, because Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert could all potentially go in the top six.
But let's just say for a second that Tagovailoa's, whose stock seems to have fallen slightly, drops to No. 7.
Should Carolina pull the trigger?
Again, it's a tough call to make, because the Panthers just committed three years and $63 million to Teddy Bridgewater in free agency.
The thing is, Bridgewater is entirely unproven, as he is being paid almost solely based on his performance in the five games that Drew Brees was hurt in New Orleans this past season.
Yes, I understand Bridgewater started a couple of years for the Minnesota Vikings very early in his career, but he combined for 28 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in those two seasons, so Carolina certainly isn't paying him based on that.
We know that Bridgewater is an incredibly capable backup and a fringe starter at this point. But can he elevate his level of play to become a legitimate franchise quarterback?
It's a question that the Panthers have to ask themselves going into the draft, because if Tagovailoa is available and they pass on him because of Bridgewater, they could end up regretting it.
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Personally, I don't think Bridgewater's ceiling is all that high. His arm strength is not elite by any stretch of the imagination, and he seems to be more of a game manager than anything else.
To be fair, Tagovailoa doesn't have the greatest arm either, but the difference is that he is just coming out of college while Bridgewater is already 27 years old with a major knee injury in his rearview mirror.
Of course, regardless of what the Panthers do at No. 7, Bridgewater will be the starting quarterback going into 2020 based on his contract alone. But the Jacksonville Jaguars showed a year ago that that could change.
Let's remember that the Jaguars signed Nick Foles last offseason, only to see rookie sixth-round pick Gardner Minshew take his job. Jacksonville then traded Foles to the Chicago Bears last month.
So, what Carolina can do is draft Tagovailoa and go into the season with Bridgewater under center. If Bridgewater performs, then hey; the Panthers can either wait it out with Tua, Aaron Rodgers style, or they can potentially trade the University of Alabama product for some more assets to keep building the roster.
If Tagovailoa is available when Carolina is on the clock, the Panthers have to pull the trigger. Yes, it could make things a bit complicated, but it can also open up several avenues that Carolina can explore and actually put the club in a safer position moving forward.
There is a chance that Bridgewater is not the answer. Wouldn't you rather have Tagovailoa on deck if that ends up being the case?
