Over the past half-decade, the Carolina Panthers have made a combined total of nine first- and second-round picks. They spent the No. 1 overall selection on quarterback Bryce Young in 2023. Since then, four of their highest five draft choices were offensive weapons to support him.
The results weren't so good until Carolina nabbed Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with last year's No. 8 overall pick. All he did was earn AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. What a revelation indeed.
We all know the NFL Draft is an unscientific process, though. Scouting departments juggle raw talent with game film, athletic testing metrics, and the painfully human element of young men burdened by enormous expectations.
Saying all that to say, why don't the Panthers just make it easy on themselves? Stick to the Grand Canyon State, and with the No. 19 pick this year, take the plunge on another playmaker to lift the Young-led passing attack to another stratosphere.
Jordyn Tyson is the Carolina Panthers' first-round steal who'd take Bryce Young to new heights
That's right. Arizona State wideout Jordyn Tyson is who I'm stumping for. If not for a laundry list of injuries that hampered him throughout his collegiate career, he would, in all likelihood, be the consensus WR1 in this class.
Alas, ESPN analyst Matt Miller provided some insider insight on how Tyson's stock is down in the weeks leading up to the draft:
"One player trending in the wrong direction leading up to the draft is Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson. In reviewing my grades with a handful of scouts, many remarked that Tyson's hamstring injury and lack of predraft workouts could cause him to slide to the back half of the first round."
Concerns about Tyson's health are well-founded. Football is a violent, grown man's game after all.
However, with Tyson still on the mend, he wasn't able to complete the typical pre-draft gauntlet of workouts and drills to assess his physical attributes. His mental fortitude is also being called into question as a byproduct of that harsh reality.
This explosive Tyson testimony comes from an NFL scout, as told to Go Long's Bob McGinn, via Tyler Dunne:
"This guy is one of the most noncompetitive receivers I’ve done in a while. Body catcher even when it’s not contested. I’ve never seen anybody catch slants and just slide to the ground like this guy does. It’s nuts. He’s just not a tough dude."
This assessment reeks of someone whose team secretly loves Tyson and wants him to tumble down the board into their waiting arms. Assuming that's not the case, time to play devil's advocate re: that scouting report excerpt. The wideout did everything in his power to stay on the field in 2025, only for his body to too often betray him.
While we're dealing in anonymous quotes from pro talent evaluators, let's be balanced about it. Get a load of this bit from an NFC scout by way of NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein, who tirelessly writes up scouting profiles for prospects every year:
"He injured both hamstrings in that Texas Tech game but still played through it and then single-handedly closed that game out for them. He wouldn’t check out."
How did Tyson fare in that Texas Tech game on not one, but two bum hamstrings? Try on 10 receptions for 105 receiving yards and a touchdown. Four of those grabs came on the Sun Devils' game-winning drive, wherein Tyson, after making all those catches, drew a pass interference penalty to put the ball on the Red Raiders' two-yard line.
Questioning this guy's will to compete? And his toughness? Odd. He was out for over a month after that thrilling 26-22 win.
The Panthers appear to have whiffed on 2024 first-round receiver Xavier Legette. They unambiguously nailed the McMillan pick. Jalen Coker has risen to the occasion as a reliable No. 2 option.
Why not add a phenom like Tyson to the mix? Between his injuries and this so-called "toughness" narrative, he's liable to still be on the board when Carolina gets on the clock. General manager Dan Morgan shouldn't hesitate to do whatever the WiFi equivalent of sprinting the card in is.
What's that franchise mantra again? Keep Pounding. Tyson will have a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder if he falls this far on draft night. He already has something to prove to those who doubt his inner competitiveness and those who are skeptical that his body will hold up at the NFL level.
Talk is cheap. Throw on a highlight reel or any All-22 cutup of Tyson in action. The young man is already adept at smoking press coverage. His route-running is polished beyond his years. Once he's in the open field, good luck getting him to the turf. Shifty moves for days.
If Carolina and the other teams earlier in the pecking order pass on him, Tyson could be the difference between a Super Bowl contender losing in the playoffs and hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy. He's that electrifying.
Doubt Tyson at your own risk.