The Carolina Panthers are a team that believe they can do big things in the 2026 NFL season.
They’re coming off an NFC South Division title, and although Week 1 got away from them against the Chicago Bears‘ high-powered offense, they bounced back with a Week 2 win.
Bryce Young is looking more and more like a potential franchise quarterback, which raises the upside of the Panthers as a whole, and it already has them surfacing in some early-season trade possibilities.
The offense is firing on all cylinders, with the Panthers having exceeded 30 points in each of the season’s first two games.
The defense could always be better, and they may have a trade path to do that.
Panthers Trade Idea
A new article by Bleacher Report suggests that the Panthers could be a suitor for defensive tackle Daron Payne.
Payne is a former first-round pick who has made a Pro Bowl, and he currently plays for the Washington Commanders.
Things aren’t going well in the nation’s capital, which is what could make Payne available.
“The Washington Commanders must quickly decide whether they can salvage their season after a 0-2 start and after losing quarterback Jayden Daniels to a dislocated elbow,” B/R’s Kristopher Knox writes.
Payne has played his entire NFL career for Washington after being the No. 13 overall pick in 2018.
He’s only missed a handful of games his entire career, having totaled 132 games and counting now in his ninth season.
Payne has 435 career tackles and 37.0 sacks.
He had a career-high 11.5 sacks in 2022, an amazing number from his defensive tackle position.
Last season, Payne appeared in 15 games and had 46 tackles, including 3.0 sacks, to go with five passes defensed and a forced fumble.
So far in the first two games of this season, Payne has made three tackles.
“If the Commanders decide that it’s not too soon to look ahead to 2027 and beyond, they should strongly consider moving defensive tackle Daron Payne,” Knox writes. “The 29-year-old is set to be a free agent in the spring, and while he’s arguably Washington’s most important impending free agent, there’s no guarantee he’ll want to return if the Commanders have another wasted campaign.”
Daron Payne Trade Cost
Bleacher Report’s writer Kristopher Knox suggests that a 2027 third-round pick would be the cost to trade for the strong interior defender Payne.
He adds that in addition to the Panthers, the Packers could also use Payne.
“Payne would likely bring a Day 2 pick in return,” Knox writes. “He recorded 46 tackles and three sacks last season and has started both games in 2026.”
The Panthers’ defense has been dinged up early in the season, including on the defensive interior, which could mean Payne has a real validity as an acquisition to increase top-end talent but also, by proxy, increase the depth on the roster, too.
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