The Carolina Panthers had a strong end to the 2024 season. That was essential for a team looking to win back respectability around the league. Unfortunately, it hurt their chances of landing a premier defensive prospect early in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Carolina's final-day victory at the Atlanta Falcons coupled with the unusual number of woeful teams this season saw them drop to No. 8 overall in the draft order. Still high enough to land one of the blue-chip prospects, but not high enough for a potentially generational talent.
Dan Morgan will leave nothing to chance. He'll prepare for every eventuality and do his due diligence on prospects projected to go all over the seven rounds. He's also looking for passionate players capable of fitting into the team's culture shift moving forward. Finding them is the tricky part.
Speculation is rampant about which way the Panthers are going to go with their first pick. Max Chadwick from Pro Football Focus went against the grain with edge rusher James Perace Jr., although he acknowledged this was something of a consolation prize with Abdul Carter expected to be a top-five selection.
"While the Panthers would love to select [Abdul] Carter here, [James] Pearce is a nice consolation prize. His 22.2% pressure rate since 2023 led all Power Four edge defenders, and his 92.4 PFF pass-rushing grade in that span ranked second to only Laiatu Latu. The speed rusher is a perfect replacement for Brian Burns, whom Carolina traded a year ago."Max Chadwick, PFF
Pearce was in contention to be the No. 1 overall selection before the campaign. The edge rusher had a down year at Tennessee by his typically high standards, but teams don't draft players for what they've done in college. Their assessments center on what they could be immediately or become over time in the pros.
There is a lot to like about the skills Pearce brings to the table. He's explosive and dynamic, boasting elite-level speed for a man his size. The prospect has a good instinctive feel for generating pressure. He also happens to be a Charlotte native.
This is a high-character player with the football IQ to match. Pearce is learning how to cope better with double teams and made progress from a technical standpoint during his final campaign on the Volunteers. Adding some extra muscle mass wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. This would help improve his functional strength and ability to set the edge against the run.
The Panthers have Jadeveon Clowney and D.J. Wonnum for Pearce or anyone else to learn from during their pivotal transition. This is a little higher than most analysts project him to go, but Morgan won't hesitate if he genuinely feels like it's the best thing for the franchise.
Nothing can or should be ruled out right now. The Panthers have too many needs for that, but things should be clearer once Morgan and his staff navigate free agency. They might even be in a luxurious position to take the best prospect available regardless of need or even trade back for more assets.
That's not a bad spot to be in. Something very few Panthers fans thought possible after an abysmal 1-7 start to their 2024 regular-season engagements.