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Round 1, No. 8: Jalon Walker, LB/edge, Georgia The Panthers lost a valuable, versatile player when Frankie Luvu signed with the Washington Commanders last year in free agency. That left Evero without a guy he could use as an off-ball linebacker, bring on blitzes or drop in coverage — the type of hybrid player who can thrive in a 3-4 scheme. Enter Walker, a native of Salisbury, N.C., who played off the ball for the Bulldogs but has the athleticism and playmaking traits to be a “slash” defender at the next level, i.e., linebacker/edge rusher. Round 2, No. 57: Alfred Collins, DT, Texas With Shy Tuttle a strong possibility to be a salary-cap cut, the Panthers need a big, burly nose tackle to line up between Brown and A’Shawn Robinson. Maybe Dan Morgan will find that brute in free agency. If not, he should give a long look to Collins, a 6-5, 320- pounder who played in 63 games across five seasons for the Longhorns. With his long arms, Collins showed a knack for knocking down passes: He had seven in 2024, when he also blocked a kick. Round 3, No. 74: Andrew Mukuba, S, Texas Morgan executed a Texas two-step in his first year as GM by taking Longhorn teammates Jonathon Brooks and Ja’Tavion Sanders in the first four rounds. Could Morgan double down with a Texas defensive tandem this year? Hard to say, but there’s a lot to like about Mukuba, who was born in Zimbabwe, moved to Austin when he was 9 and spent his first three seasons at Clemson. Mukuba does not shy from contact, as evidenced by his 11 tackles in the SEC Championship Game, including the one he laid on QB Gunner Stockton. But he also can be a ball hawk: His game-sealing interception in the quarterfinals against Arizona State was his fifth of the season, which tied for the SEC lead. Round 4, No. 110: Cobee Bryant, CB, Kansas Corner isn’t viewed as a pressing need for the Panthers. But that could change in a hurry if Dane Jackson becomes a cap casualty and unrestricted free agent Mike Jackson isn’t re-signed. The 5-11, 171-pound Bryant is a little smaller than what the Panthers usually look for in corners, owing to the years Morgan and Dave Canales were in Seattle. But Bryant showed at the East-West Shrine Bowl practices that he doesn’t mind playing physical man coverage, which brought a couple of penalty flags. But it’s hard to argue with Bryant’s confidence and his ball-hawking resume at Kansas, where he intercepted 13 passes — including two he returned for touchdowns. Round 4, No. 113: Charles Grant, OT, William & Mary Finally, the first offensive player shows up in the mock. Picking Grant would represent another first for the Panthers, who have never drafted a player from William & Mary (or Clemson, famously). Thomas Jefferson’s alma mater has turned out a couple of fair NFL coaches in Mike Tomlin and Sean McDermott. But NFL scouts made their way to Williamsburg, Va., in the fall to check out Grant, a 6-4, 300-pounder who spurned potential transfer opportunities to stay with the Tribe. W&M coach Mike London called Grant “a freak of nature,” and CBS reported he’s posted a 32-inch vertical jump while being clocked at more than 21 mph on a GPS. The Panthers overhauled their guard position last year. But it’s probably time to start thinking about an eventual successor for Taylor Moton, who turns 31 in August and dealt with a couple of injuries in 2024. Round 5, No. 141: Brashard Smith, RB, SMU Running back is another sneaky position of need for the Panthers, given that Miles Sanders is another expected cut and Brooks likely will miss most if not all of 2025 after his second ACL surgery. Morgan took a second-round gamble last year on Brooks. But there are intriguing backs to be found in later rounds — like Smith, a former Miami receiver who racked up nearly 1,700 scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns after converting to RB with the Mustangs. Smith would complement Chuba Hubbard as a change-of-pace back who can catch and motor: His 22.1 mph clocking on a 71-yard run versus Pittsburgh Round 5, No. 147: Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse Young’s Year 2 turnaround was the most important development in the Panthers’ 2024 season. But they could be in the market for a backup if they let Andy Dalton walk and choose not to sign a quarterback. Even if Dalton or another veteran is the No. 2 behind Young, former Green Bay Packers GM Ron Wolf believed in drafting a quarterback every year, even if they didn’t necessarily need one. Why? Because someone else invariably wi Round 5, No. 161: Terrell Tonka Hemingway, DT, South Carolina Much like Collins, Hemingway is an interior athlete who played a lot of college football. Hemingway’s 61 games were tied for the most in school history. Hemingway left Columbia with 9 1/2 career sacks, 19 hurries, 11 pass breakups and six fumble recoveries. He also scored on a 2-yard TD run against Jacksonville State in 2023. Hemingway would be the eighth Gamecocks player drafted by the Panthers — or eight more than their Clemson draftees. Round 7, No. 229: Jamon Dumas-Johnson, LB, Kentucky Dumas-Johnson (6-1, 245) is a little bigger than Trevin Wallace, the Kentucky linebacker the Panthers took in the third round last year. The Georgia transfer led the Wildcats with 67 tackles last fall and returned a fumble for a touchdown. He followed that with a strong showing at the East-West Shrine Bowl.

The Athletic asked three veteran personnel officials to rank the Panthers’ top 10 free agents and their responses were kind of all over the board, perhaps reflective of the group’s lack of star power. We combined their responses and took the averages to come up with these rankings, which reflect the level of interest the personnel vets anticipate the Panthers’ free agents would get on the open market. 1. (tie) S Xavier Woods Woods has been a mainstay on the back end of the Panthers’ defense since signing a three-year, $15.75 million contract in 2022. Despite starting 46 games over the past three seasons, Woods could be part of a mass exodus as Dave Canales and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero look to remake the safety room. Woods is the most accomplished of the five free-agent safeties (Jordan Fuller, Nick Scott, Sam Franklin and Lonnie Johnson are the others). The 29-year-old finished among the top four safeties in 2024 when he played every defensive snap and led Carolina in total tackles (119), solo tackles (72) and interceptions (three) 1. (tie) S Sam Franklin Franklin’s teammates voted him the special teams captain before the season when he was out with a broken foot. When Franklin returned in Week 8, he quickly resumed his place as a gunner and trusted special teams player. Franklin finished third on the team with eight special teams tackles despite missing seven games. He also was among the league leaders in a more dubious category. The emotional Franklin’s three unnecessary roughness penalties were tied for second in a group that also included Woods. One of the personnel executives called Franklin “a top-5 gunner” across the league. 3. TE Tommy Tremble Tremble, veteran Ian Thomas and special teams ace Feleipe Franks are all free agents. Thomas has seemingly had nine lives in the organization, but Tremble is four years younger than Thomas and the easy choice if the Panthers plan to retain one of the TEs. Tremble battled back issues for much of 2024 but still put up receiving numbers (23 catches on 32 targets for 234 yards and two TDs) nearly identical to those from his previous two seasons. Tremble may not be a Pro Bowler, but he can block and catch, works hard (and is Chuba Hubbard’s partner on the JUGS machine) and is worth bringing back to pair with Ja’Tavion Sanders.

1.Will there be changes to the defensive staff? This also could potentially be worded: How pervasive will the changes to the defensive staff be? David Tepper notably retained Frank Reich’s entire defensive staff for Canales — led by Ejiro Evero, who was blocked by Tepper from interviewing for other coordinator positions. Tepper has stayed behind the scenes during the seventh consecutive losing season since he bought the team. But it’s hard to envision Tepper running it back with the same defensive staff, which didn’t have ties to Canales in the first place. The Panthers already have established franchise highs for rushing yards (2,830) and points (496) allowed, and will finish among the worst teams in NFL history in both categories. Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn said early-season injuries — to Pro Bowl defensive end Derrick Brown and linebacker Shaq Thompson — hurt the defense’s chemistry

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1. Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers Play style: Advanced processor inside and outside of the pocket Scheme: Adjustable scheme Head coach Frank Reich is one of the best at adjusting his scheme to his quarterback’s strengths. The Panthers’ strength on offense is their offensive line and run game. They’ll lean into a multiple-run game and quick-hitting play-action plays like drift concepts in the middle of the field and movement concepts that will get Young outside of the pocket. As far as the regular drop-back concepts (no play action), the offense will likely look closer to Reich’s 2020 offense with a 39-year-old Philip Rivers under center — a lot of shotgun quick game with some RPOs, as well as drop-back concepts that attack the middle of the field. Though shorter quarterbacks tend to avoid the middle of the field, Young has shown he throws with enough anticipation to not only avoid that trope but excel in that area. The Panthers have some big targets in DJ Chark, Terrace Marshall Jr. and rookie Jonathan Mingo on the outside, along with Adam Thielen in the slot. Young doesn’t have the biggest arm so he’s not going to be launching deep shots too often, but the group’s lack of speed and ability to separate is a bit concerning. Young’s height and stature make having a dependable offensive line even more important, and the Panthers have a strong pass-blocking guard duo in Brady Christensen and Austin Corbett. They’ll give Young space to operate in front of him and keep his sight lines clean. Left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, who was picked sixth overall in 2022, had a promising rookie season, and right tackle Taylor Moton is a plus starter. Though pressure is mostly controlled by how long a quarterback holds onto the ball, the line will do its part in limiting pressure. Young’s ability to handle a lot of information, Reich’s ability to shape an offense around his quarterback and the Panthers’ strong offensive line should lead to success early for Young.

Panthers mailbag: On Malik Willis, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cam Newton and … German beer https://theathletic.com/3222516/2022/04/01/panthers-mailbag-on-malik-willis-jimmy-garoppolo-cam-newton-and-german-beer/