Predicting what the Carolina Panthers will do in 2025 NFL Draft
After this weekend, the Carolina Panthers are going to have selected their 2025 NFL Draft class — one that the team hopes will build upon a hopeful end to the 2024 season.
But what will the Panthers do on draft night?
Perhaps more importantly, what should they do?
Observer reporters Mike Kaye and Alex Zietlow, as well as columnist Scott Fowler, have compiled answers to the five burning questions that will ultimately predict what the franchise does later this week. Read it below.
Coverage of the draft begins just past 8 p.m. Thursday and runs through Saturday. You can watch the draft live on ESPN, ABC or NFL Network.
How many picks will the Carolina Panthers finish the 2025 draft with?
The Panthers enter Thursday with nine picks. That includes the eighth overall selection, as well as one pick in the second round (57th), one in the third (74th), two in the fourth (111th, 114th), three in the fifth (140th, 146th, 163rd), none in the sixth and one in the seventh (230th).
General manager Dan Morgan showed in his debut last year that he’s willing to wheel and deal. And with the Panthers having a ton of positions to plug with talent, making trades to increase their draft haul (either this year or in future years) is a possibility. Here’s what we think.
Scott Fowler: 8. I think the Panthers will make at least two trades in this NFL Draft, but that they are far more likely to be on Day 3 than Day 1. After all the wheeling and dealing, they’ll end up with one fewer pick than the number where they started.
Mike Kaye: 10. The Panthers appear to be very open to a trade-back scenario. In order to pull that off though, they’ll probably need to be creative with a combination of same-round swaps and possibly a Day 2 or Day 3 pick thrown in. Of all the scenarios, it’s more likely that Morgan will pick more than nine times, as opposed to less.
Alex Zietlow: 9. I think the Panthers won’t be able to get “un-stuck” from that No. 8 overall spot, which would yield the biggest return. I also think they’ll be some moves made in later rounds, but like in 2024, it’ll produce picks for future drafts, not necessarily this one.
Who is the ideal trade partner for the Panthers to trade any of their picks?
Other franchises could be in the market to trade up and trade back in this year’s draft. This is what would happen in an ideal world for the Panthers.
Scott Fowler: Dallas Cowboys (No. 12). Dallas owner Jerry Jones is wonderfully unpredictable and prone to making big moves in drafts for offensive players that he really likes. That logically could mean a move into the Top 5 picks to acquire running back Ashton Jeanty. But if that doesn’t work out, I could easily see the Cowboys try to move up four spots into Carolina’s slot because Jones has fallen in love with someone else.
Mike Kaye: Miami Dolphins (No. 13). The Dolphins have needs at cornerback, offensive tackle and running back, and No. 8 seems like a logical place to land one of those potential upgrades. Going back five spots is enough of a slide for the Panthers to command notable value. Also, there will still be plenty of solid pass rushers and wideouts worthy of this range.
Alex Zietlow: Houston Texans (No. 25). A few weeks ago, there was scuttlebutt that the Pittsburgh Steelers could be in the market to trade up to No. 8, leapfrogging the QB-needy Saints at No. 9 for a direct shot at selecting Shedeur Sanders. But much of that has subsided now; the Steelers, after all, don’t have a second-round pick and trading up could be out of the question as a result.
In any case, a more ideal move for the Panthers, I think, would be to strike a deal with the Texans — who need OL help and could be compelled by some of the first-round offensive tackle talent in this draft. The Panthers would get a huge haul moving back to No. 25, and in this deep of a draft, No. 25 isn’t all that bad of a spot to be in.
Who should the Panthers pick?
This one’s pretty simple. Here’s who each of us think the Panthers should pick with their first-round selection. We provided two choices each.
Scott Fowler: Jalon Walker, Edge/OLB, Georgia OR Mason Graham, DT, Michigan. Graham is a longshot here because he’s likely going to be gone by No. 8. But if he does drop — and somebody always does that you don’t expect — he’d be a great get for a team that has spent much of the offseason attempting to upgrade a porous defensive line.
As for Walker, he’s ready to improve the pass rush right now. Mainly, I want the pick to stay defense.
Mike Kaye: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan OR Donovan Ezeiruaku, Edge/OLB, Boston College. There seems to be a real possibility that Graham falls to No. 8. The Jacksonville Jaguars are the first wild card pick (No. 5) and if they pass on Graham, he could land at the Panthers’ feet (paws?). If that happens, the Panthers should only have two things to consider: draft Graham or trade back.
If they are able to trade back, Ezeiruaku would be an ideal pure pass-rushing addition. He’s coming off 30 career sacks at Boston College and ran an elite 6.94-second 3-cone drill at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Alex Zietlow: Jalon Walker, Edge/OLB, Georgia OR Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina. Defense, defense, defense! My reasoning: You either take one of the best/most-versatile defenders in the draft or a premier safety to bolster a unit that needs bodies. If they stay at 8, take Walker. If they trade back, take Emmanwori. No need to over-complicate this.
Who should the Panthers NOT pick?
Is there anyone who is getting a lot of hype — and perhaps deservedly so — that the Panthers should resist selecting with their first-round pick? We provided two choices each.
Scott Fowler: Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado AND Cam Ward, QB, Miami. Silly to even say this, in a way, because either guy would require a massive trade-up to go from No. 8 to somewhere in the top three. But the Panthers have done it before (see: Bryce Young) and are still paying the price (although, yes, Young might end up ultimately working out).
In this draft for the Panthers, the only trade scenario that really makes sense in the first round is to trade back, not up.
Mike Kaye: Shemar Stewart, DE, Texas A&M AND Kelvin Banks, OT, Texas. Stewart’s testing numbers were off the charts, but he only managed to produce 4.5 sacks in three years (Ezeiruaku had 13.5 sacks in his first three years, which isn’t counting his 16.5-sack performance in 2024). Stewart has a ton of upside, but he seems like a guy the Panthers would feel comfortable passing on, even if he goes on to have a great career.
While the offensive tackle position feels open-ended for the Panthers, Carolina shouldn’t try to nab an offensive tackle early unless the guy is the top prospect on their board. The general consensus is that LSU’s Will Campbell and Missouri’s Armand Membou will likely be off the board by No. 8. Taking Banks, who some think might be better fit for guard, would be a consolation prize at No. 8, even if the Panthers are stuck at the spot. He also probably wouldn’t play in 2025.
Alex Zietlow: Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State AND Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State. These answers are admittedly unimaginative, as neither of these guys were linked to the Panthers.
But I just wanted it on-record: The Panthers shouldn’t spend their premier pick on a running back — particularly with Jonathon Brooks waiting in the wings — or a tight end, no matter how compelling the recruits are. And they certainly shouldn’t trade up to get someone at either position, even Jeanty, who has been rising up projections like a summer sun. (Must I say it again? Defense!)
Who will the Panthers pick?
Here is what we think the Panthers will ultimately do on Day 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Scott Fowler: Will Campbell, OT, LSU OR Armand Membou, OT, Missouri. I would rather the Panthers not do this, but the way they’ve let the Ickey Ekwonu fifth-year option decision drag out makes me think they’re not sold on him. One of these two offensive tackles may well be on the board by the time Carolina chooses — maybe even both of them.
I think they need a big-time skill player or two on offense, not another tackle. So I wouldn’t love this pick, but it sure feels like something Carolina might do.
Mike Kaye: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan OR Jalon Walker, Edge/OLB, Georgia. Despite spending oodles of cash on Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown in free agency, it doesn’t feel like the Panthers are completely done with the defensive front. If the Panthers can’t trade out of No. 8 — I think it’ll actually be quite difficult — and Graham somehow falls (for instance, if Jacksonville passes on him for an offensive tackle or Walker at No. 5), it would not be surprising to see Morgan pounce on a potential blue-chip defender.
Walker is the most notably connected prospect to the Panthers, and with Carolina playing quite coy, it’s hard to ignore the common media match. Morgan said he sees Walker as an outside linebacker in the Panthers’ scheme, and that position would be worthy of top-10 value if Carolina were to take the leap with the hybrid defender.
Alex Zietlow: Jalon Walker, Edge/OLB, Georgia OR Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona. Again, I must remain consistent in my prediction if the Panthers don’t move from No. 8. And if the board shakes out like how I predict — with Mason Graham and Abdul Carter long gone by the time the Panthers pick — then I think hitting on Walker or McMillan would be a win for the Panthers.
Defense is the priority, of course, but McMillan would be a wonderful weapon at Bryce Young’s disposal ... and would arrive ahead of such an important year for the QB, too.
