Carolina Panthers: 2008 NFL Draft do-over (7 rounds)

Jonathan Stewart is the all-time leading rusher for the Carolina Panthers. Drafting him wasn’t a mistake but was there a better player available?

The 2008 NFL Draft was stacked with talent. Players who would play crucial rules on championship teams emerged from a strong class. And the Carolina Panthers could say they have their fair share of regrets with their choices.

The first few rounds were loaded with players who became household names for many years. Even the later stages of the draft had some incredible contributors. Although the Carolina Panthers did strike gold with a couple of their selections. Things could have looked far different if they had gone in a different direction.

Some teams found their franchise quarterbacks and others were completely wide of the mark regarding the prospect they drafted. This tends to be the case through most drafts. And as the old saying goes, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers missed big in the early rounds but struck gold later in the draft. Finding that elusive diamond in the rough with a late-rounder has the potential to make a huge difference to a roster. And this is something that Carolina has done incredibly well since its inception.

The Panthers found some success in this draft. They took some players who would go on to have long accomplished careers. But the organization also managed to pick some huge busts that might have set them back from their original goal.

Here are some things the Panthers might do differently if they had the chance to go back in time and re-do their class of 2008.