Panthers staff evaluated quarterback Kenny Pickett at Pitt’s pro day on Monday

The scouting staff met with Pickett and Willis at the Senior Bowl in January, and the team had formal interviews with all the top quarterback prospects at the Scouting Combine as well. Corral wasn’t at the Senior Bowl.

The Panthers have been aggressive in the first week of free agency, but haven’t made a move at quarterback yet.

Considering the economics of the position, drafting one makes sense, as it allows the team to put more parts around a young player. Fitterer knows that from his days with the Seahawks, when Russell Wilson won a Super Bowl while on his rookie deal, thanks to a veteran-laden defense.

“That’s huge. I mean, ideally that would be the way you want to go, to have a young quarterback on a rookie contract with a veteran team around him,” Fitterer said. “Once you get up to paying a guy $30 million or $35 million a year, that limits what you can do, and you’re taking from other areas of your team.

“Any time you have a rookie quarterback it really helps financially. What we did in Seattle, we had a veteran team and we were able to drop a rookie quarterback on a rookie quarterbacks’ contract onto that team. We were still able to have a lot of veteran, talented players on bigger contracts around him. Economically, it’s a smart way to do it, but it’s not always the easiest way to do it, because you have to find that guy, identify him, and a lot of time you’re picking high in the draft if you’re able to do that. We were fortunate in Seattle to get Russell in the third round. That might be the ideal way to do it, but it’s not always the easiest way.”

Deciding if any of the guys they’re looking at this week are the right guy is the next job for the Panthers.

And they’ve got plenty of people helping to make that decision.