Carolina Panthers free agency 2021: Top 5 targets

1. Taylor Moton

Moton wasn’t drafted by the current Panthers’ regime, but they still understand his value to the franchise. Letting him leave in free agency would be a bitter pill for Rhule and his coaching staff to swallow.

Retaining the talented right tackle won’t be cheap. PFF predicts it might require a five-year deal with an average annual value exceeding $16 million. That might seem like a lot of money for a right tackle, but Moton’s one of the best players at the position. That fact, combined with the other question marks along Carolina’s offensive line makes him the Panthers’ No. 1 priority this offseason.

It’s important to remember that the organization could choose to use the franchise tag to keep Moton for another season as well. The Panthers would prefer to get a long-term deal done, but they won’t hesitate to use the tag if it’s what is required to keep Moton in Carolina.

Signing new free agents will garner more headlines in Carolina this offseason, but retaining Moton could be the team’s single most important transaction. It’s hard to envision the Panthers building a quality offensive line in 2021 without his services.