Panthers select LSU WR Terrace Marshall Jr. in 2nd round of NFL Draft

CLEVELAND — The Carolina Panthers selected LSU wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. with the No. 59 overall pick in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Marshall gives them some long-term cover at receiver, the team stated in a news release following the pick.

Marshall racked up nearly 1,600 receiving yards and had 23 receiving touchdowns at LSU.

He is the first offensive player drafted in the era of head coach Matt Rhule.

The team traded back twice Friday night giving them three picks in the third round of the draft.

The Panthers first traded back with the Chicago Bears then with the Cleveland Browns.

“The Panthers are banking on the depth at certain positions, but plenty of chances to address them later tonight,” the release stated Friday night.

>>Below: Terms of the Panthers’ trades

DAY 1: Panthers select South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn with No. 8 pick in NFL Draft

Here is a recap of the Panthers first round 2021 NFL Draft pick

The Carolina Panthers selected cornerback Jaycee Horn from South Carolina with the No. 8 pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night, passing on Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields to help upgrade their defense.

Horn was the first defensive player selected in the draft. Carolina spent all seven picks on defensive players last year.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Horn appeared in 30 games during his career for the Gamecocks and had 101 tackles and two interceptions. He is known for being an aggressive, attacking cornerback and fills an immediate need for the Panthers, who struggled in pass defense a year ago.

Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said the team went with someone who can make an immediate impact at the starting corner position.

“He jumped off the tape,” Rhule said. “I think we had three guys ranked at the top of that round, and I think, when you watch Jaycee Horn play on tape, he jumps off the tape. His competitiveness -- we see that he can do a lot of different things and fits a need for us.”

In the weeks leading up to the draft, the Panthers were reportedly intrigued by Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, if he was available when Carolina was on the clock. Fields was still up for grabs but Rhule said he believes in Sam Darnold, whom they traded for earlier this month.

“I’m not gonna talk about other players,” Rhule said. “We brought Sam here for a reason. We’re excited to see what he can do. We’re excited to give him an opportunity. We traded for him because we believe in his potential. At the same time, to us, corner is a position. You know if you go back to last year, there were times we just couldn’t get off the field.”

Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said the team was ready to entertain all trade options for the No. 8 pick but wound up keeping it.

Fields was still available when the Panthers made their selection, but the team appeared to show its confidence in quarterback Sam Darnold.

[Carolina Panthers trade QB Bridgewater to Denver Broncos]

The Panthers are coming off a 5-11 season, prompting Fitterer and coach Matt Rhule to send three draft picks to the New York Jets in exchange for Darnold. The team then traded last year’s starting QB Teddy Bridgewater to Denver for a sixth-round pick.

The Panthers were also intrigued by Oregon’s 6-foot-6, 339-pound tackle Penei Sewell to fill a major need, but the Lions took him with the seventh pick.

It marks the first time the Panthers have selected a cornerback in the first round since taking Chris Gamble in 2004.

Panthers pick up options on Sam Darnold, DJ Moore

The Panthers are picking up the fifth-year options on the contracts of quarterback Sam Darnold and wide receiver DJ Moore , guaranteeing their deals through the 2022 season, according to the team’s website.

The Panthers were planning to pick up Darnold’s option when they acquired him in a trade with the Jets earlier this month.

“I’m not going to talk about other players; we brought Sam here for a reason,” Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said. “We’re excited to see what he can do. We’re excited to give him an opportunity. We traded for him because we believe in his potential.”

Moore, a 2018 first-rounder, had a career-high 1,193 receiving yards last year. His combined 2,368 receiving yards in his first two seasons rank fifth among NFL wide receivers.

Jaguars open NFL draft, Meyer era by drafting Clemson’s Lawrence

The Jacksonville Jaguars waited more than four months to make the easiest and maybe most significant pick in franchise history.

As obvious as it was, fireworks and frivolity followed.

A sold-out draft party that included 8,000 fans celebrated wildly as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stepped to the podium and announced Trevor Lawrence’s name as the first pick in the draft Thursday night.

The Clemson star had a more subdued reaction in Seneca, South Carolina — probably because he knew, like everyone else, that he would be the first pick in the NFL draft.

“It was just a kind of a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Lawrence said. “I’m going to do everything in my power to get us back to where we need to be. I’m going to put in the work. No one’s going to work harder than me.”

The Jags added one of Lawrence’s college teammates, standout running back Travis Etienne, with the 25th pick in the first round. The move pairs two of the most productive players in Clemson history as centerpieces of coach Urban Meyer’s offense.

“I don’t have to get to work on getting to know somebody else,” Etienne said. “I know Trevor inside and out.”

Lawrence and Etienne became the first QB-RB combination from the same school to go in the first round of the same draft in the modern era, according to the NFL. Together, they should help Jacksonville improve an offense that ranked last in the NFL in 2020 with just 16 explosive plays.

“I’ve always had a very strong belief in speed,” Meyer said, making it clear that Etienne will be used as much as a receiver as a ball-carrier. “The idea for offense is to create matchup nightmares. He’s as good outside as a receiver as he is as a running back.”

Lawrence was the fourth quarterback drafted by the franchise in the first round in its 27 years of existence, joining Byron Leftwich (2003), Blaine Gabbert (2011) and Blake Bortles (2014).

Dyami Brown's mom pens letter to son ahead of draft Dyami Browns mom pens letter to son ahead of draft

The chance to draft Lawrence was one of the factors that lured Meyer out of the broadcast booth and got him back on the sideline. Jacksonville has five of the top 65 picks, including three in the second and third rounds Friday night.

No matter who else the Jaguars bring in, none of them will compare to Lawrence. He’s now the face of the franchise for the foreseeable future. And Jacksonville is counting on him solving the team’s decades-old problem at the all-important position.

“I don’t have any expectations for anything other than myself,” Lawrence said. “I’m not expecting anyone to hand me anything. I want to come in there and earn the respect and trust of my teammates and the right to lead the team.”

Meyer spoke to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who initially had four words for his former college coaching colleague.

“Don’t screw it up,” Swinney said.

“”This will be a very easy transition” for Lawrence, Swinney added. “What he’s stepping into, the expectations, all those things, that his normal. And it has been for a long time. He’s built the right way. ... He’s the epitome of consistency. And if you know anything about Urban Meyer, he values consistency and toughness. I didn’t have to sell him on his toughness.”

Lawrence enjoyed a stellar college career, going 34-2 as Clemson’s starter and leading the Tigers to three Atlantic Coast Conference titles and the 2018 national championship.

He completed 66% of his passes for 10,098 yards, with 90 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He also ran for 18 scores.

The Jaguars locked up the No. 1 pick in the next-to-last week of the 2020 NFL regular season, and Lawrence was the target long before Meyer was hired to replace Doug Marrone.

Meyer, general manager Trent Baalke and owner Shad Khan never tipped the obvious pick, but they didn’t try to disguise it, either.

Meyer said they made the decision in early February.

The Jaguars already gave Lawrence a playbook and held several Zoom sessions with him. Even Khan sat in on at least one, getting to know a player he’s prepared to guarantee nearly $40 million in a four-year deal.

Lawrence was the fourth quarterback Jacksonville drafted in the last four years, following Tanner Lee (2018), Gardner Minshew (2019) and Jake Luton (2020). Minshew and Luton remain on the roster, but Lawrence is expected to start from Day 1.

He should be a significant upgrade for a franchise that has endured Gabbert, Chad Henne, Blake Bortles, Cody Kessler, Nick Foles, Minshew, Luton and Mike Glennon as starters over the past decade.

“I’m just pumped,” Lawrence said. “The best is yet to come.”

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