Brian Burns trade is the first step toward fixing Bryce Young and the Panthers
After what has seemed like forever, the Carolina Panthers have traded Brian Burns.Burns is headed to New York to play for the Giants, where he'll join Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the defensive side of the ball, forming one of the scarier pass rushing threats in the NFL.In return, the Panthers received second- and […]
After what has seemed like forever, the Carolina Panthers have traded Brian Burns.
Burns is headed to New York to play for the Giants, where he'll join Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the defensive side of the ball, forming one of the scarier pass rushing threats in the NFL.
In return, the Panthers received second- and fifth-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, which is a far cry from the two first-rounders turned down by former general manager, Scott Fitterer, back in 2022. The decision was questioned by many at the time and looks even worse in hindsight.
Dan Morgan takes a step toward cleaning up the Fitterer era
The Giants definitely underpaid to acquire Burns. The Rams were going to pay him, too, and Burns' trade value plummeted because Fitterer denied such a lucrative offer.
It's smart of Morgan to try and get whatever he can out of the deal. The Panthers need to build around Bryce Young directly by acquiring weapons/good offensive linemen on the offensive side of the ball and then add to the defense as they go. You obviously want both sides of the ball to have as much talent as possible, but the Panthers also have Ejiro Evero, who is one of the best defensive coordinators around. He helps offset the personnel issues, to an extent.
We've also seen teams, like the Kansas City Chiefs, infuse a lot of youth on defense of in order to add to the offense. That's certainly worked out for them over the last two years.
The Panthers now have two second-rounders, Nos. 39 and 33, which they could use to trade into the back end of the first round. There's a lot to like with the move, even if it could've been a lot better.
But, that's also part of fixing things. Sometimes you just have to accept it could've been better and try to make the most out of what's left in order to get the best you can. That's what the Panthers have done, now it's about using the extra resources wisely in order to get back on track.
