Free agency has been stellar for the Carolina Panthers, who have been among the most active teams on the open market. General manager Dan Morgan was aggressive as promised, signing a true one-on-one winner off the edge in Jaelan Phillips, a stout linebacker in Devin Lloyd, and a sufficient yet talented bridge tackle in Rasheed Walker.
The moves made by Morgan and the Panthers have signaled they aren't in dire need of key positions and can take the best prospect available approach in the 2026 NFL Draft. Carolina has now begun to earn the clout it needs to garner movement throughout the offseason as a potential playoff contender once again.
However, Carolina must be careful in the upcoming draft. They have made costly mistakes in the past, though the jury is still out in some cases. As Pro Football Focus explained, avoiding this worst-case scenario is straightforward.
Drafting a running back early would be the Carolina Panthers' worst-case scenario
This week, PFF analyst John Kosko discussed the worst-case scenarios for each NFC team, a helpful tool for the average fan running a mock draft simulation. For the Panthers, he listed a plain and simple scenario that would be less-than-ideal in their roster construction: "Using valuable draft ammo at RB."
Kosko described Carolina as another team with multiple holes, citing a below-average EPA per play allowed and a lack of down-to-down consistency, despite winning the division with an 8-9 record. However, as he further explains, the last thing Morgan should be doing in the first three rounds is drafting another running back.
"The last thing the Panthers need is another draft pick dedicated to running back. Even with Rico Dowdle departing in free agency, the team used draft picks on the position in each of the past two years for Jonathon Brooks in 2024 and Trevor Etienne in 2025.
"While you can argue that the Panthers don’t have a top-tier running back, trying to force that position with big-time needs on defense won’t help Carolina slow down high-powered offensive attacks in the NFC."
Thankfully, most of the big-time needs on defense have been addressed with Phillips and Lloyd. Yet, they still need help at free safety, nickel cornerback, and defensive line depth. What Kosko is saying is mostly factual: the Panthers would be unwise to select another tailback early in the draft with the investments they've made in the past few years, including A.J. Dillon this offseason.
Now, if by some miracle the Panthers had Notre Dame phenom Jeremiyah Love staring them in the face, it would be hard to ignore passing him up, especially with what he could do for the offense in the long haul as a potentially healthy tandem with Brooks, assuming Chuba Hubbard is the odd man out. But anything less than that is pushing the envelope a little too much.
Either way, the investments the Panthers should be making in the early rounds of the draft should be focusing on adding depth along the trenches on both sides of the ball, a stout nickel corner, a dynamic pass-catcher, or a ball hawk at safety.
And fans are confident Morgan will do what's required.