Carolina Panthers

Panthers Show Early Interest in Christian McCaffrey

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:18 p.m. ET

Fansided, Parker Hurley/FanSided via Cat Crave

The Carolina Panthers now have some coaching connections to Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and are interested in him as a prospect…

One of the Carolina Panthers recent coaching hires was to acquire Lance Taylor as their wide receivers coach. He served as an assistant receivers coach for the Panthers during the 2013 season.

However, what is interesting to note is that Taylor spent his last three seasons at Stanford as their running backs coach. This obviously puts him in a strong connection with running back prospect Christian McCaffrey.

Taylor was asked about McCaffrey and all he could do was rave about the special talent that he is, on and off the field. He even made a comparison to Luke Kuechly in terms of work ethic and leadership. While it is no shock that Taylor would rave about his former player, what may shock some Panthers fans was news that the team may be interested in drafting the prospect eighth overall in this year’s NFL draft.

Per @CecilLammey, the #Panthers have interest in Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey with their 8th pick.

— 104.3 The FAN (@1043TheFan) February 7, 2017

It is worth noting that the source is a Denver radio station. While you may wonder why a Denver radio station would have any insight into this decision, Ed McCaffrey, Christian’s father was a member of the Denver Broncos for nine of his 13 NFL seasons.

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Could it be that the father and former coach of the younger McCaffrey are talking big to increase his draft stock?

Certainly.

Should these rumors still be taken seriously?

Absolutely.

This offseason, a lot of the talk around Carolina has been evolving this offense and it seems to start with adding some sort of running back. Whether they go to more two-back sets with Jonathan Stewart or move on from Stewart, the backfield should look different.

This has led many pundits to open the mock draft season by slotting Leonard Fournette to the Panthers with their eighth overall pick. Often these prognosticators have the right position, but wrong player slotted into their mock drafts.

Many suggest that McCaffrey will be a late first round pick. If Carolina truly is in love with his potential and do not think he will be around in round two, they could make the selection. The Panthers may have McCaffrey ahead of Fournette on their board. Versatility and being a passing game threat would be two quick reasons to make the case.

The Panthers could also explore trading back, still securing their guy in addition to gaining an added pick this year or next. Still a long way from the draft, rumors will continue to swirl, but McCaffrey to Carolina is certainly one to take note of right now.