Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer has helped orchestrate one of, if not the most active offseasons in franchise history. But it’s not been nearly enough, at least not yet, to put him into the upper echelon of the league’s top shot callers.
Around the NFL podcast host Gregg Rosenthal cooked up his most recent batch of NFL general manager power rankings this past week. Leaving seven of the newer general managers out of his ranks, Rosenthal positioned Fitterer at No. 23—just two spots off the very bottom of the list.
He writes:
It’s hard to know what to make of Fitterer, who arrived a year into the Matt Rhule era. Rhule appeared to be in charge and it’s unclear if Fitterer had much say in owner David Tepper’s hiring of Frank Reich. The trade up for the No. 1 overall pick made sense, two years in the making after passing on Justin Fields and Mac Jones in 2021. The Panthers’ drafts under Fitterer will depend on getting that pick right, Jaycee Horn’s health and Ikem Ekwonu’s development. The free-agent haul this season (Vonn Bell, Adam Thielen, Hayden Hurst, Miles Sanders, D.J. Chark and Shy Tuttle) was a lot more aggressive than in years past, a sign that Fitterer knows the clock is ticking.
The clock is also (unofficially) ticking on that first overall selection, which’ll be used on a quarterback in less than two weeks. As of now, Alabama’s Bryce Young is the solid odds-on favorite to be that pick—which may also come down to Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Florida’s Anthony Richardson.
And if Fitterer helps steer the Panthers towards the right passer, perhaps he’ll be much higher than No. 23 the next time around.
