Who will the Carolina Panthers pick in the NFL Draft? These are our predictions
After months of scouting and deliberating, the Carolina Panthers are set to pick with the No. 19 selection in this weekend’s 2026 NFL Draft.
While the team has several needs, it will need to zero in on just one position in Thursday’s first round.
Will they go “best player available,” or will they be inclined to pounce on a specific area of need? Will they prioritize offense over defense or defense over offense? Could they trade up or down from 19?
The Charlotte Observer’s Panthers reporters have asked themselves those same questions, and the trio of scribes linked up to make their annual draft predictions and musings.
Coverage of the draft begins at 8 p.m. Thursday with the first round. The draft runs through Saturday. You can watch it live on ESPN, ABC or NFL Network.
How many picks will the Carolina Panthers finish the 2026 draft with?
The Panthers enter the 2026 NFL Draft with seven selections (with two fifth-round picks and no seventh-round selections). Carolina used eight picks in 2025.
When the dust settles, here are our guesses on how many picks the Panthers will end up using:
Mike Kaye: Eight. The Panthers have been aggressive over the past two years with draft trades. They’ve gone up and down the board with fluidity, and I’d bet that practice is continued in Year 3 of the Dan Morgan era. The draw of trading back in this draft to add more mid-round picks is there. Carolina just needs to find the right deal.
Alex Zietlow: Seven. Morgan has found a lot of success wheeling-and-dealing in his first two drafts in the general manager seat, no doubt. And deals will certainly be struck again this year. But something tells me Morgan will still end with seven draft picks — he might trade back on Day 2 and trade up on Day 3, for instance. And remember, what he does this week could very well impact the 2027 draft as well. Don’t forget the 2024 draft when a trade yielded the Panthers a 2025 second-round pick; the Panthers might not have gotten Nic Scourton without that move.
Scott Fowler: Six. Both quantity and quality remain important to a Panthers team that still has a number of holes to fill. But I’m guessing Morgan values quality a little more this time around, given he’s at the helm of a playoff team, and ends up trading away at least one more pick than he acquires.
Who is the ideal trade partner for the Panthers in the first round?
If the Panthers want to move up or down the board, they should look into dealing with these teams:
Mike Kaye: Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins own two first-round picks (No. 11 and No. 30). With a new front office in charge, Miami might want to land two top-20 prospects, so trading up from 30 to 19 might make sense for them, especially because they own THREE third-round picks, too. If the Panthers can move back 11 spots, pick up a mid-third-round pick and another Day 3 selection, they’ll have more ammo during the weekend to upgrade their roster. Also, at that point, the Panthers can take someone like Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez or Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller with little public pushback.
Alex Zietlow: Chicago Bears. Yes, them again. The Panthers aren’t new to having the Bears as trade partners, and it at least would make sense for Chicago and Carolina to strike a deal Thursday. Those parameters: Chicago could be compelled to leap up from 25th to 19th in the first round if they’re in love with a particular prospect — they need a pass rusher, for instance, and Akheem Mesidor could go right around then — and they could use one of their two second-round picks (57 and 60) as part of the package to move up. (Just to get it on the record: I think the Panthers stay put and make a selection at 19. But if the Bears come calling, the Panther should listen.)
Scott Fowler: Pittsburgh Steelers. They have 12 picks of the 257 in this NFL Draft — the most of any team entering Thursday night. It stands to reason the Steelers won’t be adverse to swapping a few of them.
Who should the Panthers pick in the first round?
These players are the ones the writers think the Panthers should target in the first round:
Mike Kaye: Oregon DB Dillon Thieneman. Nick Scott had a solid year as a full-time starter for the Panthers last season. However, the soon-to-be 31-year-old safety is a cog that can be upgraded with relative ease. Thieneman is a versatile chess piece in the secondary, and his 4.35-second 40-yard dash speed makes him a tantalizing option for Ejiro Evero’s defense. Thieneman can play single-high safety, he can move in the box, and he can assuredly be used as a nickel defender, even in base packages.
Safety isn’t considered a premium position, but Thieneman is a premium prospect who can make everyone around him better. His speed and versatility give him a high floor, but his ceiling is also tremendous.
For the Panthers’ sake, here’s hoping he makes it to No. 19.
Alex Zietlow: Kenyon Sadiq, also out of Oregon. The tight end is just too fast, too explosive and too good to pass up if the Panthers are blessed to have him drop to 19. His addition would give the position a massive upgrade; all three Panthers tight ends had fewer receiving yards than both running backs Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle in 2025. That’s not all, either: It would also give quarterback Bryce Young another weapon so the team can continue to figure out what his future looks like in Carolina after 2027. Is he worth $50 million average per year (APY) money? Keep drafting playmakers around him, and find out.
Scott Fowler: Oregon DB Dillon Thieneman. Safety isn’t a position the Panthers normally would consider, but Thieneman is worth the consideration. See Mike’s reasoning above for the specifics as to why. If he’s there, take him.
Who should the Panthers NOT pick in the first round?
These players are the ones Carolina should avoid on Day 1:
Mike Kaye: Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy. The talented cornerback missed the entire 2025 season while recovering from ACL surgery. He only played two college seasons (one at Tennessee and one at Oregon State) before declaring for the draft. While his surgery reportedly took place over a year ago, McCoy decided to not test at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
The Panthers have an underlying long-term need at cornerback. Mike Jackson is in the final year of his deal and Corey Thornton is still just a promising project. But McCoy has a recent enough injury history to give off Jonathon Brooks vibes. Just based on the front office’s history with players coming off injuries, it’d probably be a logical move to pass on McCoy, even with his tremendous prospect profile from his limited action in college.
Alex Zietlow: Miami pass rusher Akheem Mesidor. This is less of a judgment on the player and more an opinion that the Panthers should stay away from the outside linebacker position in the first round. Period. There are other complications with Mesidor, true. The main one is that he’ll be a 25-year-old rookie and might be 30 by the time he gets his second NFL contract.
But the thing that makes him a player the Panthers shouldn’t draft? It’s simple: They’ve already spent a ton of capital at the outside linebacker spot. Jaelan Phillips in free agency did not come cheap, after all. They didn’t just spend two Day 2 picks on OLBs in 2025 for nothing, either. And oh yeah: Pat Jones is back, too. Take an offensive playmaker in the first round. Or even someone in the defensive backfield. Just not a pass rusher.
Scott Fowler: Auburn edge rusher Keldric Faulk. His size makes him tempting (6-5, 275) and will allow him to compete immediately and possibly be drafted higher than he should be. The issue with Faulk: he’s got all sorts of measurables. But where are the big plays? He started 12 games for Auburn last year but managed only two sacks and five TFLs. He feels like an “almost” sort of player — plus, as Alex says above, the Panthers have already spent a lot of money and capital at his position.
Who will the Panthers pick in the first round?
After a long wait, here’s who we think the Panthers will take Thursday night:
Mike Kaye: Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr. The Panthers have a thing for wide receivers. Head coach Dave Canales is a former wide receivers coach, offensive coordinator Brad Idzik is a former wide receivers coach, and wide receivers coach Rob Moore is a former Pro Bowl wideout. So, it’s understandable that the front office has leaned on that expertise with their draft capital.
Cooper strikes as both a “Morgan guy” and a “Canales guy” based on his profile. While he’s only 6-foot and 199 pounds, Cooper is a yards-after-catch fiend with hard-to-bring-down toughness. He was primarily a slot receiver for the Hoosiers last year, but he can be used on the outside as well. He’d pretty much be an answer to the Xavier Legette dilemma, as he has versatility, explosiveness and playmaking skills that have been compared to Deebo Samuel. He’d also allow Jalen Coker to move to his more natural “Z” position to the opposite side of Tetairoa McMillan.
Remember, as Morgan said last week, there’s no rule against drafting a wideout in three consecutive first rounds. And if Thieneman doesn’t make to No. 19, Cooper is a quality piece to add to the offense.
Alex Zietlow: Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion. I, like Mike, think the Panthers will take a wide receiver. I just think it’ll be the Charlotte native speedster who can make this offense more explosive and give Bryce Young the downfield threat and yards-after-catch monster he’s been looking for. He’s on the smaller side — 5-foot-11, 190 pounds — but he’s got all the attributes draft experts love; they use words like “burst” and “tough” and “versatile.” His NFL.com draft comparison was Doug Baldwin — and you know the former Seattle Seahawks offensive assistant-turned-Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales would love having another Baldwin. Crazy things happen on Day 1 of draft night. That’s true particularly when you’re picking 19th. But all things being equal, this makes a lot of sense. And would get a lot of people excited.
Scott Fowler: Oregon DB Dillon Thieneman. I’m thinking positively and hoping that at 19 the Panthers still have a chance to grab the player I want them to take. For most of their history, the Panthers have gotten by with mediocre safeties, undervaluing a position that can be manned by a real game-changer. I believe Thieneman would be one.
