Carolina Panthers select Virginia Tech EDGE Amare Barno with second fifth-round pick of 2022 NFL Draft

The Carolina Panthers drafted edge defender Amare Barno from Virginia Tech with the No. 189 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Panthers received the pick in a trade with the Washington Commanders in which they gave up picks No. 144 and No. 149 and also received No. 120 overall.

Barno was invited to the Reese’s Senior Bowl in February after a spectacular 2021 season with the Hokies. He finished the season with 35 tackles (5.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks and a team-high 10 quarterback hurries. He is the second selection of Saturday for the Panthers, who used the pick acquired from Washington to take Penn State linebacker Brandon Smith.

The sixth-round selection is the fourth of six for the Panthers. Carolina has two more, No. 199 in the sixth and No. 242 in the seventh round. Due to prior trades, Carolina’s second-round pick and a fourth-round pick went to the New York Jets. They also gave up a third-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for corner C.J. Henderson last season.

The Panthers finished the 2021 season at 5-12 at the bottom of the NFC South. It’s no secret head coach Matt Rhule is on the hot seat as he enters a critical third season. The NFL is a business that expects results quickly and a good draft could go a long way for Rhule in 2022.

Panthers need to maximize draft picks

Key needs for the Panthers heading into the draft were quarterback, offensive line, tight end, linebacker and secondary.

This offseason, the Panthers added OG Austin Corbett, S Xavier Woods, WR Rashard Higgins, WR Brandon Zylstra, and P Johnny Hekker. The organization also held on to quarterback Sam Darnold with a $18.8 million fifth-year option. On the flip side, they lost top edge rusher Haason Reddick to free agency and veteran defensive lineman DaQuan Jones.

New offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo revealed that he believes Darnold will be the team’s starting quarterback in 2022, before backtracking a few moments later. McAdoo corrected himself stating, “that is something I shouldn’t have said” at this point in the calendar. In his first season with the Panthers, Darnold threw for 2,527 yards and nine touchdowns with 13 interceptions in 12 appearances.