Panthers or Patriots: Who won the trade for Stephon Gilmore?

Stephon Gilmore went from being an injured cornerback on the IR list to being released by the New England Patriots to then being traded to the Carolina Panthers for a 2023 sixth-round draft pick.

Looking at his body of work, it is fair to say that a sixth-round pick was too cheap. Did the Panthers get a steal?

Is a sixth-round pick too low for Stephon Gilmore?

Simply put, yes, a sixth-round pick in 2023 is too little. For NFL franchises, sixth-round picks rarely turn into players that see a third season, let alone Pro Bowl cornerbacks.

On paper, the Panthers fleeced the Patriots in this transaction. Anything less than a third-round pick should be considered a steal for a player of Gilmore's ability. The Panthers won the lottery in this deal.

Granted, there are a couple of issues for the Panthers to sort out. Gilmore held out during the offseason in an attempt to get more money, has an injury, is over the age of 30, and is playing in the last year of his deal. In other words, the Panthers will need to pay the cornerback soon and hope he doesn't regress further or suffer any complications with his current injury.

Gilmore is currently working through an injury to his quad that ended his 2020 season early and resulted in him being placed on IR for roughly 1/3rd of the 2021 campaign. According to CBS Sports, Gilmore is expected to be back around Week 6. He may be cleared to play soon, but his contract situation puts a lot of pressure on the Panthers to get a deal done.

Assuming Gilmore comes back fully healthy and resolves his contract situation, the cornerback will be slotted into the depth chart. The Panthers have managed to rebuild their cornerback room mid-season by trading for CJ Henderson and Stephon Gilmore.

The Panthers have the third-best overall defense and the second-best passing defense in the NFL this season, which has just been bolstered by Gilmore's addition.

The Panthers, 3-1, are on pace to make the playoffs this season. Eight of their next 13 games are against teams under .500.

That said, they have one of the most brutal final stretches in the NFL this season. In their last four games, they will play against the Bills, the Buccaneers twice, and the Saints. If there's a time when the Panthers will need Gilmore, it will be in this stretch of games.

Luckily, Gilmore will be fully healthy and warmed up by then.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New England Patriots

Put simply, the Panthers not only got Gilmore for next to nothing in terms of draft capital, but they would also have him just in time for their most brutal stretch of the schedule. There may not be another trade as cost-effective as this one for quite some time.