The Carolina Panthers have been anything but complacent this offseason. Hoping to improve on their first NFC South title in nearly a decade, the team has made significant moves in free agency. They have added high-priced free agents such as Jaelan Phillips and Devin Lloyd to sure up their defense, and added highly touted linemen like Rasheed Walker to protect quarterback Bryce Young.
Now, as draft day rapidly approaches, the team finds itself in a favorable position. Instead of drafting a position out of necessity, it can exercise greater discernment in whom it selects.
NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes the Panthers are in a position where they are best served not trying to force a selection to fill a need.
Don’t Overthink
The Panthers at pick number 19 in the draft should be able to select an impact player from several positions, whether that is safety, tight end, or wide receiver.
Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, in his April 16 article, wrote about how draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes Panthers general manager Dan Morgan is in a favorable situation.
“Get yourself a starter — a quality starter … you can pick it, forget it and know that you’re solid going forward,” Jeremiah said.
Jeremiah identified three players as guys the Panthers could select that have minimal “miss factor.” Those players are tight end Kenyon Sadiq and safety Dillon Thieneman, both from Oregon, and wide receiver KC Concepcion, from Texas A&M.
“Thieneman feels that way to me,” Jeremiah said. “Sadiq, you know, he’s got some drops — I’d love to see that cleaned up. You mentioned Concepcion, that’s his bugaboo, too. Both of those guys have some drop issues. But dynamic, explosive players — competitive guys. Sadiq’s a really good blocker, you can do a lot of things with him creatively.”
The biggest thing for Jeremiah is that the Panthers don’t overthink this draft pick.
“I just think that if you’re the Panthers, you don’t need to force it,” Jeremiah said. “Just see whose there, get yourself a solid piece, and then move on. I don’t think they have to feel like they have the proverbial gun to their head — they’ve got to do this, that, or the other — they can just let the draft come to them.”
The Panthers also aren’t afraid to add to an already filled position.
Triple Dipping at WR
Drafting a wide receiver in the first round three years in a row may sound crazy to some people, but not to Panthers general manager Dan Morgan. Morgan wants it known that even though the Panthers drafted Xavier Legette in the first round in 2024 and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan in the first round in 2025, that this doesn’t prohibit the Panthers from selecting one in 2026.
Kole Noble of A to Z Sports, in his April 14 article, wrote about Morgan at the NFL Annual Meeting, saying he had no problem selecting a wide receiver in the first round for the third year in a row.
“I wouldn’t hesitate to draft another wideout,” Morgan explained. “I don’t think there’s a rule that says you can’t draft a wide receiver three years in a row [in the first-round]. I’m not really going to box us in and say we’re not going to draft one.”
If the Panthers go with that strategy, they hope to have more success than the last team that selected three wide receivers in a row in the first round. The Detroit Lions from 2003-2005 selected Charles Rogers, Roy Williams, and Mike Williams in the top ten of the first round and had a record of 16-32 over that timespan.
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