Dan Morgan has tremendous flexibility when the 2025 NFL Draft rolls around. The general manager set himself up for success through trades and avoiding the rash gambles of previous regimes. Taking advantage of this rich bounty of assets is the tricky part.
The Carolina Panthers have a plethora of holes to fill. Bryce Young needs more weapons in the passing game. Dave Canales needs another running back after Jonathon Brooks suffered a second torn ACL. As for the defense? Nobody aside from the Pro Bowl duo of Derrick Brown and Jaycee Horn should consider themselves safe.
Morgan wants to build through the draft, which is the traditional way to mold a contender. After getting some mixed returns on his first crop of prospects from the college ranks, he must maximize the nine picks at his disposal this time around.
With so many glaring roster holes, even nine picks might not be enough. This bears more significance considering financial resources aren't readily available currently, although that will change once Morgan and Brandt Tilis make moves before free agency.
Carolina Panthers tabbed as ideal trade-down candidate from No. 8 overall
All options are on the table. Daniel Jeremiah from the NFL Network believes the Panthers are an ideal trade candidate to move down from No. 8 overall. The respected analyst also believes Morgan would be wise to secure prospects from winning programs to help enhance the culture being built by Canales.
"They're a prime trade candidate. It sucks when you have a lot of needs on your team. The nice thing is, you can afford to slide around and move around a little bit, and you're still going to get someone who's going to help you out. I think with them, trying to find guys who've won. When you're a team that hasn't won a lot lately, I do think there is something to that. Bryce [Young] has been through the fire a little bit. Come out of it stronger and he's got a winning pedigree."Daniel Jeremiah
In an ideal world, one of the top quarterbacks is there for the taking and someone makes Morgan an offer he can't refuse. If more signal-callers go at the top end than many expected, the Panthers should have one of the blue-chip prospects available.
That's a win-win whichever way one looks at it.
Playing the board effectively is crucial. Morgan is a cool customer with supreme focus. He is unwavering in the face of extreme pressure. He'll know what's needed and how to achieve his objectives. There also needs to be conviction to strike when trades up or down the order come under the microscope.
More important than anything else, the Panthers have to draft good football players.
Morgan must find prospects early on who can be starters on day one. Finding diamonds in the rough lower down the pecking order is only going to help. That's going to enhance Carolina's rotational options and depth pieces capable of becoming an asset on special teams.
That will be Morgan's biggest objective. One of the reasons Carolina is in this mess stemmed from the team's inability to draft effectively. It's about time that changed.
If that also includes a trade-down, so be it.