CHARLOTTE – The Panthers offered Scott Fitterer the chance to use the eighth overall choice in the 2021 NFL Draft.
He may not know what to do with something so important in the order.
But he certainly showed that he can help build the championship’s organization in many different ways over the years.
In offering the position of general manager to the Seahawks’ vice president of football operations on Thursday, the Panthers identified an evaluator of an important program that helped Seattle build a stable base.
And while the Seahawks have become as well known lately for their tendency to trade down in order as any particular player they choose, Fitterer is around when they ride a champion, mostly through the draft.
The class of 2012 was simply the type of group that you build franchises on, as you acquired the pillars of the team that won Super Bowl XLVIII after the 2013 season.
They used their choice in the first round on the pass-rusher Bruce Irvin, who was a solid professional throughout his career. The next two choices helped define them for almost a decade.
Placing linebacker Bobby Wagner in the second round and quarterback Russel Wilson in the third were the leaders on both sides of the ball who have carried the Seahawks ever since.
Seattle had just signed with quarterback Matt Flynn at a free agency that offseason, and the $ 26 million three-year contract indicated that they planned to get him started (and play well).
But Wilson was a player who never took it for granted that he should wait his turn, and the Seahawks obviously made the right move by making 75th overall choose their starting lineup immediately.
Since then, the Seahawks have chosen no more than 27th in the draft. This is partly due to their willingness to trade back to accumulate assets, but also because they have been very good.
The Seahawks made it to the playoffs in eight of the past nine seasons, and their 9-7 record in 2017 was the watermark for that series. They are 98-45-1 in the past nine seasons.
This is the kind of sustained success that the Panthers are looking for, having never enjoyed consecutive wins in 26 years, with a record of 200-215-1.
Adding someone from a successful organization was clearly part of the plan by owner David Tepper, as the other three finalists for the job were the Chiefs, Titans (through the Patriots) and 49ers (through the Broncos and Patriots).
But working together was also a key part of what Tepper envisioned, with 47-year-old Fitterer and 45-year-old coach Matt Rhule in a position to add a young and promising defense team.
At the very least, Fitterer’s time in Seattle should illustrate that he is not rigid or stuck in his own specialization silo.