It will be another year until the Carolina Panthers make another draft selection. Now, the focus returns to the 2026 campaign, and the team was helped by general manager Dan Morgan, who may have had one of the strongest outcomes in the entire selection process.
Morgan has been the decision-maker of the organization since he was promoted. The last three offseasons have focused on establishing a roster floor, acquiring depth and foundational pieces, and adding stability for the coming years.
In this year's draft, Morgan may have secured another strong draft class filled with intent, value picks, and an emphasis on continuity in the trenches.
Carolina Panthers enhanced their chances with another strong draft class
Carolina's front-office leader had to rebuild this roster from the ground up. The depth had been obliterated by Scott Fitterer's costly mistakes over the years. You can be skeptical of Morgan for being his assistant not long ago, but it is hard to ignore the key additions that have helped the Panthers increase their win total in consecutive seasons.
With each draft pick made by Carolina, it never felt that they were reaching for a player. They always landed with the right value, from first-round offensive tackle Monroe Freeling to their seventh-round selection of linebacker Jackson Kuwatch. Nothing felt out of place, nor did it feel like panic.
Patience, calculatedness, and cautious aggressiveness are keywords in the Panthers' franchise reconstruction since 2024. That is precisely what Morgan was during this draft.
Top center Sam Hecht and versatile safety Zakee Wheatley, both projected as top 100 selections, were the team's choices with both of their fifth-round selections. Both should provide exceptional value.
It isn't that Morgan knows what he is doing, but he has remained sound in his approach to each selection, understanding where and when the runs are coming, thanks to an analytical-minded staff of Brandt Tilis and Eric Eager. There is an understanding and clear messaging in the process: the need to build and win.
Securing long-term ceilings in the trenches, adding depth and competition at the skill positions on both sides of the ball, and landing a potential special teams ace later, paired with soon-to-be announced undrafted free agent signings, signals that the team is on the right path with improved talent each season.
The Panthers are on the right track. The dog days of the dead period from now until training camp will leave much to be intrigued by for 2026 as an important year in the third campaign under head coach Dave Canales begins.
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