2025 Draft Grade: A Through free agency and the draft, Panthers GM Dan Morgan has put on a master class of sticking to your guns! It started by not vastly overpaying DT Milton Williams in a bidding war with the Patriots and ended with Carolina masterfully moving around the draft board. With their 8th overall pick, they selected another big body WR with great hands in the form of Tetairoa McMillan. As seen in the clip above, Carolina had an offer from the Los Angeles Rams to move up to 8 while Carolina sank back all the way to pick 26. No one knows exactly what Dan was asking for the pick, but it was a bridge too far for the Rams. Bryce Young now has a perfect running mate to help jumpstart the offense in 2025.
As for the rest of the draft, Carolina proceeded to check every single box at just about every position that needed depth on the roster. They started by adding two EDGE rushers in the form of Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen. The latter of which they traded up for.
BPA was the theme from there on out as they found Trevor Etienne in the 4th round waiting to add depth to the RB room. Especially important since last year's 2nd RD pick, Jonathan Brooks, will be sidelined for the entire year. The Panthers drafted safety Lathan Ransom and DT Cam Jackson later to shore up their terrible run defense, drafted Mitchell Evans at TE For his sure handedness and willingness to block down field, and finished the draft by signing speedster from Colorado, Jimmy Horn Jr. All in all, it's hard to imagine Carolina coming away with a draft better than this one.
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- Cody Lachney, Panthers Analyst