GIVEN ALL THE FREE AGENCY MOVES........ What of the Draft?

I will contend that every draft is different for every team. What a team does this draft may very well be anathema next year. EVERY team builds a draft Big Board. This board does NOT list players like the Big Boards on the Web do. Instead, each team's board lists players how the TEAM would rank them at that particular moment.  So each team's board is going to be significantly different depending on the 'minds' involved in the ranking and the perceived direction the team intends to take in pursuit of the "Golden Biscuit".

So, any team that says they are drafting "best player available" is either outright lying, OR, they are just intentionally misleading everyone. Why.??  Because each team board does not represent a consensus across the league. It represents what each team thinks separately and independently from every other team.  A team that has a Lamar Jackson or a Patrick Mahomes, or Josh Allen is most probably NOT going to draft a rookie QB at #1. Even though that QB may be the "best player available" across the league, a lot of teams may not have him on their board at all, ... because they don't need him right now.

So, this means the Panthers will draft by NEED this year, ..... just like every other year. Their draft board will be shaped by position and need. They might (and SHOULD) draft the BPA within a position of need. But make no mistake, they won't draft a player where they have no need, no matter how good they are. On draft day, faced with their board showing players at WR, OLB, and CB, they'll scratch their head and ask the question: Which one do we NEED most.???

What you said is true though... Good FA decisions will definitely make things "easier" on draft day.....