When general manager Dan Morgan stepped to the podium for his pre-draft media availability, he repeated his desire to take the best prospects available. He praised positional flexibility. He talked about collaboration in the draft room with head coach Dave Canales. He insisted the Carolina Panthers are open to any scenario at No. 19 overall.
Then, he kept circling back to three spots on the defense: defensive tackle, safety, and nickel cornerback. The more Morgan talked, the clearer the picture became.
Morgan called releasing interior defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson part of the business. And financially, it was. The move freed roughly $10.5 million in salary-cap space that helped land edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and linebacker Devin Lloyd in free agency.
Carolina Panthers' top-heavy assessment of defensive tackle class could lead to early movement
But on the field, Robinson leaves a gaping hole. He played 66 percent of defensive snaps in 2024. He played 62% of snaps in 2025. He started 33 of 34 games. He gave Ejiro Evero a reliable interior presence next to Derrick Brown, allowing the 3-4 front to function effectively.
Brown is still there. So are Bobby Brown III, Cam Jackson, and Tershawn Wharton. But the glue piece is gone.
And Morgan said something very telling: “In terms of the defensive tackle class, I feel pretty good about it. I think it’s a little top-heavy.”
General managers don’t casually describe a class as top-heavy unless they are studying the top of it. And this draft just happens to have names like Kayden McDonald, Caleb Banks, and Peter Woods. Morgan even voluntarily brought up the Clemson standout as a first or second-round type of player. After the defensive tackle, the front-office leader went somewhere else unprompted. Post safety and nickel corner.
The Panthers re-signed Nick Scott to a one-year deal. Chau Smith-Wade is penciled in at nickel. And last year’s undrafted surprise, Corey Thornton, is in the mix. But that’s not a long-term plan. That’s a placeholder.
And Morgan said, “If there’s a post safety that we like, then great, we take a post safety. If there’s a nickel that we really like… yeah, we’ll do that as well.”
This is where the draft class lines up almost too perfectly: Caleb Downs. Dillon Thieneman. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. And for nickel: Chandler Rivers. Keionte Scott. Treydan Stukes.
Now Morgan knows the league’s draft math. Safety is not viewed as a premium position. Neither is a defensive tackle unless the player is special. And yet he went out of his way to say: “We wouldn’t hesitate to take a guy if we feel he’s the best player.”
He didn’t give away a name, but he gave away the plan.
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