Panthers Draft: How does 2020 class rank with rest of NFL?

The Carolina Panthers draft proved to be a historic one for the franchise, and it received a good grade from a recent article on NFL.com.

It was a Carolina Panthers draft that will live in the memory. The franchise set their stall out early and this is a trend that continued throughout their selections.

Using every pick on defense was not something the Panthers draft team planned heading into the three-day event. But the stars aligned for an NFL-first that should stand the organization in good stead for the future.

A recent feature by Gennaro Filice and Dan Parr on NFL.com liked what they saw from the Panthers draft in 2020. They gave Carolina’s picks a B+ overall grade that ranked them No. 14 in the league.

Writing about the Panthers history draft, Filice and Parr had this to say.

"If you watched the 2020 NFL Draft for five minutes, you heard the phrase “Rhule Restoration” 10 times. So, what exactly is that, besides snappy alliteration? Well, in the first draft of the Matt Rhule era, Carolina’s Rhule Restoration consisted of carpet-bombing the defense with draftees — ALL THE DRAFTEES. The Panthers became the first team in the common-draft era to use all of their picks on defensive players. It’s actually not that surprising, either. Carolina finished 31st in scoring defense last season. … And then one of the very best players in franchise history — linebacker Luke Kuechly — abruptly retired. … And then the Panthers’ CB1 signed a mega-deal with the Giants. … And then they lost four experienced disruptors up front (Mario Addison, Bruce Irvin, Dontari Poe and Vernon Butler), as well as Eric Reid in the back end. Long story short, Carolina came into this draft with serious needs on all three levels of the defense. Rhule Restorers … MOUNT UP!"

While it might take some time for the class of 2020 to get up to speed given the social distancing measures surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. There is a real chance some of them can make an early contribution thanks to their outstanding skill sets.

Head coach Matt Rhule and general manager Marty Hurney identified players that could operate into a multitude of different defensive areas. It is going to be a steep learning curve for them all. But hopefully, they will come out of it with all the experience needed to make a real success of their respective careers in Carolina.