5 players the Carolina Panthers should have chosen over Terrace Marshall Jr.

Despite another standout contribution throughout the summer, the Carolina Panthers decided the time was right to end the Terrace Marshall Jr. experiment once and for all.

The wide receiver was waived during final cuts after a willing trade suitor couldn't be found. One could make a case for his development being mismanaged, but the new regime harbored no emotional attachment to the former second-round selection and he was moved on with little fanfare attached.

Marshall went unclaimed on waivers before being signed by the San Francisco 49ers. This is a great landing spot for the LSU product, especially if the NFC West outfit ends up trading Brandon Aiyuk at some stage with tensions rising between both parties.

This is another draft bust chosen by the previous regime. Matt Rhule and Scott Fitterer came into the Panthers with vast knowledge of the college ranks. Unfortunately, they had no clue how to properly evaluate their prospects at the next level and paid with their jobs.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing to have. That said, here are five players the Panthers would have been much better off taking instead of Marshall in 2021.

Players the Carolina Panthers should have drafted over Terrace Marshall Jr.

Carolina Panthers could have drafted Teven Jenkins

• Offensive Line | No. 39 overall

Terrace Marshall Jr. went No. 59 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. But it's worth remembering that the Carolina Panthers originally had the No. 39 pick before trading down twice.

The first trade was with the Chicago Bears. They would later trade the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Panthers for quarterback Bryce Young. The NFC North franchise came up for offensive lineman Teven Jenkins, who endured a rocky start to his professional career but has come on significantly over the last two seasons.

Jenkins will once again start the season at left guard in Chicago while Marshall will look to revive his career with the San Francisco 49ers. Considering the problems Carolina's had on its interior protection in recent years, standing pat and taking the former Oklahoma State star would have been the smarter move in hindsight.

Hopefully, the big-money acquisitions of Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt can provide some much-needed stability and ferocity to the guard positions in 2024.