10 biggest Carolina Panthers draft steals of the last decade

Which Carolina Panthers players emerged as the team’s biggest NFL Draft steals over the last decade?

The Carolina Panthers could have done better with some of their lower-end NFL Draft selections in recent years. This normally separates the good teams from the great and no doubt Scott Fitterer’s appointment as general manager had a lot to do with his success getting diamonds in the rough that turned into superstars during his time with the Seattle Seahawks.

That’s not to say Carolina doesn’t have plenty of players who can now be considered steals based on their production. Where they were selected in the draft process is irrelevant, what qualifies them is that they’d be taken much higher if NFL teams knew then what they do now about certain talent.

With this in mind, we picked out the 10 biggest draft steals where the Panthers are concerned over the last decade.

Number 10

Jermaine Carter – Carolina Panthers LB

• 5th round  (No. 161 overall) – 2018

It’s not been the smoothest of rides for Jermaine Carter and the Panthers since he was drafted in the fifth round back in 2018. But considering the level of impact the linebacker made when he finally emerged from Matt Rhule’s dog house and replaced Tahir Whitehead in the starting lineup last season, his place on the list is warranted.

Carter has all the talent in the world, but his fiery attitude and outspoken nature got him off on the wrong foot with his head coach. However, there appears to be a player of significant talent underneath all this and it would be a big surprise if he wasn’t a more prominent part of the rotation from the word go in 2021 despite the free-agent signing of Denzel Perryman from the Los Angeles Chargers.

For a late-round pick to be part of the starting team after just three seasons is becoming more of a rarity across the league. So the Panthers deserve credit for not only drafting Carter but seeing enough in him to put up with the player rubbing some up the wrong way.