Three NFL Draft options at five positions of need for the Carolina Panthers
The debate about what the Carolina Panthers will do with their first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft is understandably the focal point leading up to Thursday night.
But the Panthers have more than one roster need. And, of course, they have more than one pick to fill those needs.
Here’s a look at five positions the Panthers will be looking to upgrade in the 2026 NFL Draft — and three options each with which they can do it.
Those three options will include a Day 1 pick, which encompasses the first round; a Day 2 pick, which encompasses the second and third rounds; and a Day 3 pick, which encompasses the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.
The Panthers are beginning the 2026 NFL Draft with seven picks:
- Their own first-rounder (19th)
- Their own second-rounder (51st)
- Their own third-rounder (83rd)
- Their own fourth-rounder (119th)
- Minnesota’s fifth-rounder via the Adam Thielen trade (158th)
- Their own fifth-rounder (159th)
- Their own sixth-rounder (200th)
A disclaimer: The Panthers indeed could use reinforcements at a bevy of other positions, including interior offensive line and cornerback. Please accept this list for the sake of brevity.
Tight end
The Panthers enter the draft with five tight ends on their roster: a fully healthy Ja’Tavion Sanders, Mitchell Evans, Tommy Tremble, newly signed Feleipe Franks and James Mitchell. General manager Dan Morgan feels good about the room as is — he told reporters as much last week — but an explosive receiving threat in the group could really help Bryce Young as he embarks on another important year in Carolina.
Day 1: Kenyon Sadiq, Oregon. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound playmaker is one of the most athletic tight end prospects the NFL Draft has ever seen. His 4.39 40-yard dash is the fastest by a tight end in NFL Scouting Combine history, and his other measurables suggest he’d be able to out-jump safeties and present nightmare matchups for linebackers. It’d be a blessing if he falls to 19.
Day 2: Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt. Stowers was no slouch himself at the combine; he broke a tight end record for vertical jump (45.5”), for instance. But the former quarterback-turned-TE who won the John Mackey Award in 2025 is much more than his athleticism. He’d be an intriguing option for the Panthers in the second round.
Day 3: Justin Joly, N.C. State. Joly is projected to be a fourth-round pick by some, and considering the local ties, the 6-foot-3, 251-pound tight end might end up in Carolina. He finished 2025 with 49 receptions for 489 yards and seven touchdowns for the Wolfpack. (Oscar Delp out of Georgia is another name that the Panthers could consider — but it’s tough to imagine he’d fall to Day 3.)
Wide receiver
In case you needed the reminder: There’s no rule against drafting a wide receiver in the first round of the NFL Draft three years in a row. And it’s looking very possible the Panthers might do that this year. They certainly could use the speed and deep threat — particularly someone who could complement last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, Tetairoa McMillan.
Day 1: Omar Cooper Jr., Indiana. The 6-foot, 200-pound wideout who is exceptionally fast has been a popular prediction for the Panthers in the first round. It doesn’t hurt that the Panthers reportedly scheduled a “30 visit” with him. (All the same things could be said for Texas A&M receiver and former N.C. State standout KC Concepcion.)
Day 2: Ted Hurst, Georgia State. The 6-foot-4, 206-pound receiver has some extreme upside to him — and that was on display during the Senior Bowl. If the Panthers opt to go elsewhere in Round 1, maybe they end up with Hurst in Round 2.
Day 3: Kendrick Law, Kentucky. Here’s a name you might not have heard before. But here’s a name you have heard before in which Law is compared to: DJ Moore. That’s what Daniel Jeremiah said during the NFL Network’s coverage of this year’s NFL Scouting Combine ... and that was after Law squatted 655 pounds and ran a 4.45 40-yard dash. Maybe a fifth- or sixth-round option.
Offensive tackle
Left tackle Ickey Ekwonu is on the final year of his contract and will miss at least a chunk of 2026 after sustaining a significant knee injury at the end of last year. The Panthers brought in reinforcements from free agency, but building for the future might be on Carolina’s mind.
Day 1: Blake Miller, Clemson. Panthers offensive line coach Joe Gilbert attended and even led a few drills at Clemson’s Pro Day this year. Could it be because the Panthers wanted to get a close look at Miller, who has experience at both tackle positions and thus could compete for starting LT in the short-term and be an option for right tackle in the long-term? It’s worth the discussion.
Day 2: Caleb Tiernan, Northwestern. The 6-foot-7, 323-pound Tiernan is considered a Top 5 tackle in this year’s draft. He is considered one of the top interior offensive linemen, too, as scouts are reportedly mixed on how to categorize him. For a team that could use depth at both positions, the second-round projected OL could be of interest to Carolina.
Day 3: Drew Shelton, Penn State. He’s a sixth-round projection, but with clear speed and a solid career as a Big Ten left tackle, he might be on Carolina’s board for the team’s final selection.
Safety
Nick Scott had a solid season in 2025. So solid, in fact, that he was awarded a Top 4 performance-based pay distribution for 2025 — a collectively bargained benefit that compensates all players based upon their playing time and salary levels. But the Panthers should still look to upgrade at the position and keep building on a solid room with Scott, Tre’Von Moehrig and Lathan Ransom.
Day 1: Dillon Thieneman, Oregon. The 6-foot, 201-pound safety has notable athleticism — a 4.35-second 40 is nothing to overlook, even as a defensive back. And based on a survey of most mock drafts, he might just be the best player available when the Panthers get to selecting at 19.
Day 2: AJ Haulcy, LSU. The 6-foot, 220-pound playmaker has all the right attributes that could complement the in-the-box Tre’Von Moehrig and hard-hitting Lathan Ransom. Words used to describe the projected second-round pick: “ballhawk” ... “instinctive” ... “a Pro Bowler in the right scheme.” And for those curious: Yes, the Panthers hosted him for a visit earlier this month.
Day 3: VJ Payne, Kansas State. The 6-foot-3, 208-pound safety went to the Panthers in Jordan Reid’s mock draft in the fifth round. His measurables are impressive — 6-foot-3, 33 3/4 arm length — and he’s durable, too. Couldn’t go wrong building depth here.
Inside linebacker
Carolina went and got the best inside linebacker on the free agent market in Devin Lloyd in March. And Trevin Wallace and Claudin Cherelus made some big plays in big moments in 2025. But adding some competition to the room is not above Morgan, a former great Panthers linebacker himself.
Day 1: CJ Allen, Georgia. The Panthers aren’t winning the Arvell Reese or Sonny Styles sweepstakes. And CJ Allen might not even be selected in the first round — he could climb up there given his reportedly impressive pre-draft performance, but many mocks are considering him a second-round pick. (And given the fact that inside linebackers only get selected in the first round on rare occasions, that’s not all that surprising.)
Day 2: Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech. Luke Kuechly’s favorite linebacker in the draft might just be in play in the 51st pick. What Kuechly said of Rodriguez on a recent podcast: “The one thing that’s most important for backers is, ‘How quickly can you process?’ ... And I think he’s really good at that.” High praise from a Hall of Famer whose superpower was diagnosing plays. Rodriguez’s athleticism — 4.57 40-yard dash, 38.5 vertical jump — isn’t half-bad, either.
Day 3: Jimmy Rolder, Michigan. A fifth-round projection, Rolder didn’t make headlines for his athleticism like others in his class did. But his short stint at Michigan proved productive. As Lance Zierlein of NFL.com writes: “If you trust the tape and ignore his lack of experience, Rolder profiles as future starting inside linebacker.”
