CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A rumor surfaced last week during the NFL owners meetings that the Carolina Panthers were talking to San Francisco about trading up from No. 8 to get the second pick of the draft.

It makes sense on some fronts.

It doesn’t on others.

First, if general manager Dave Gettleman makes such a move, logic says it would be to draft Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas. Gettleman values big men -- he even has a nickname for them: Hog Mollies -- more than anything.

He particularly likes big men that can rush the passer.

Trading draft picks, which Gettleman considers “gold," for the chance to pick LSU’s Leonard Fournette doesn’t make sense considering the incredible depth at running back in this draft.

Also, the Panthers need a young, dynamic, long-term solution at end with Julius Peppers (37) and Charles Johnson (30) at the end of their careers. Mario Addison, signed to a three-year extension, also is no young pup with his 30th birthday coming in September.

Thomas (6-foot-3, 273 pounds) is the best end in the draft after Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett, who is likely to go No. 1 to Cleveland. There’s no way he would fall all the way to eight, with San Francisco at No. 2 the most likely landing spot.

Carolina coach Ron Rivera flew across the country to personally meet with Thomas at Stanford’s pro day, so that’s another indication there’s strong interest.

Rivera is also going to see Fournette on Wednesday, but Carolina possibly could get him at No. 8. And again, there’s tremendous depth at running back.

One also needs to consider what Gettleman said before the owners meetings when explaining why he traded defensive end Kony Ealy, Carolina’s second-round pick in 2014, and a third-round pick to move up eight spots for New England’s second-round pick.

Ealy was supposed to be that long-term solution at end, but he never played to his potential outside a flash in Super Bowl 50.

“To you guys, eight spots doesn’t seem like much," Gettelman said. “But to me it’s gold."

It takes even more gold to get to No. 2 in the draft. The Panthers likely would have to trade the No. 8 pick and both of their second-rounders to get there.

It makes sense that San Francisco would be willing to listen because the 49ers need a quarterback and the top two -- Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky -- make more sense at eight than two.

The 49ers also are in rebuilding mode, so extra picks make sense.

“You’ve got to give up something to get something," Gettleman said when referencing the Ealy trade. “You’re not fooling anybody anymore. We just wanted to move up and get another second-round pick. I think it gives us more flexibility.”

Whether Gettleman would use that flexibility to move to No. 2 remains to be seen. That’s where this doesn’t make sense.

Gettleman has four picks in the first three rounds. With the draft deep at running back, tight end, wide receiver, safety and, to a degree, defensive end, he could get a quality player at four of those positions if he holds on to what he has.

He also could land an offensive tackle, which on paper could make this a successful draft no matter what the Panthers do in the latter rounds.

My gut says Gettleman will hold on to his picks. He could have a choice of Fournette, Alabama tight end O.J. Howard or one of the top safeties at No. 8. Any would be a win, leaving Gettleman with two second-round picks to fill other needs.

If Gettleman trades up, it would make more sense to pair the second-rounders or a second- and third-rounder to move back in the first round for one of the other top running backs – say, Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey.

Or maybe they will target Washington wide receiver John Ross, whose 40 time of 4.22 seconds set an NFL combine record. The Panthers gave him a private workout.

Keeping the picks gives Gettleman more options.

And remember, he also mentioned all the recent failed first-round picks during his pre-owners meeting news conference.

Gettleman doesn’t want to turn gold into fool’s gold.