NFL Rumors: 5 Tee Higgins trades still on the table after Bengals tag WR

4. Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers sold the farm for No. 1 pick Bryce Young last season. The only problem? D.J. Moore was on the farm, and the Panthers were left without a suitable wide receiver corps to accentuate their bright young QB. Young struggled mightily, in part due to the offensive line, in part due to the cruddy WR room, and in part due to his own shortcomings. It's hard to get a solid read on his NFL future at this point, but the Panthers cannot afford to tank Young's career with poor roster construction.

So, naturally, the Panthers are a hot pick for every WR trade candidate. Few are more believable than Higgins. While it would certainly reflect poorly on the front office to trade their top wideout (and a bunch of picks) for a QB, only to turn around and burn more picks on his WR room, the front office cannot get caught up in optics. The Panthers need to resurrect Young's career before it's too late.

Adam Thielen was Young's only semi-reliable target last season. The 33-year-old can still get the job done, but he profiles much better as the WR2 next to a more explosive playmaker in Higgins' vein. Plus, Higgins is 25, much closer to Young's developmental timeline. He would drastically improve the Panthers' outlook, both short and long term.

There's natural risk when introducing a player accustomed to contending to the worst team in football, but the Panthers — for all their front office ineptitude and woefully misguided ownership — are clearly angling to make a leap, and fast, under new head coach Dave Canales. Carolina is probably willing to sacrifice financial flexibility and draft capital down the line to make it happen.