The Carolina Panthers are in a unique position, albeit an enviable one.
At 3-10, Carolina can forget about the playoffs. While they’re not *technically* out of the hunt, one more win by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (or one more loss by Carolina) will officially boot them away from playoff contention.
For fans of teams in these scenarios, this is referred to as “mock draft season.” With the regular season winding down, and the College Football Playoff about to begin, football fans across the nation are using different online mock draft simulators to give themselves optimism for their teams’ futures.
For many teams in Carolina’s shoes, a potential top five draft pick means that taking a quarterback is usually considered. Only once in the past decade has a quarterback not been taken in the first five picks of the draft. That was 2022, when the first QB selected was Kenny Pickett at 20 by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Before that, the last time a QB was not taken in the top five was 2014, when Johnny Manziel became the first QB selected in that draft by the Cleveland Browns at pick 22.
Up until almost two months ago, Carolina was in the QB conversation. Bryce Young had been benched for Andy Dalton, until a thumb injury from a small car accident forced Young back into the starting role. Since then, however, Young has astounded everyone with his play, leading the Panthers to back-to-back wins, and almost defeating three playoff teams (Kansas City, Tampa Bay, and Philadelphia) with a game-tying or potential game-winning drive in each game.
Thanks to Young’s sudden development, QB no longer appears to be an issue for Carolina. They can instead focus on addressing other positions of need and going with a “best player available” strategy in the draft.
If the season were to end today, the Panthers would have the fourth overall pick. The New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would have the top two selections, with the New England Patriots picking at the third slot. The Giants and Raiders seem set to take QBs with each of their picks, but the Patriots are the wild card. Like Carolina, they are in desperate need of an influx of young talent at virtually every position besides QB. Many mock drafts have New England taking Colorado’s unicorn, Travis Hunter, with their pick, but who they ultimately decide on is anyone’s guess.
Carolina has a plethora of positions that have to be addressed in order to give them a real shot at contending moving forward. Wide receiver, defensive line, linebacker, cornerback, and both safety positions are all among their weaker groups. Fortunately for them, the draft is heavy with talent at each position.
Here are five players that Carolina could realistically take with a potential top five draft pick next April:
One of the more intimidating players in recent draft memory, Graham has dominated opposing offensive lines at Michigan for the last three years. One only has to take a look at the long list of accolades he’s racked up to see how truly dominant of a player Graham is. Among those: Freshman All-American, Second-team All-American, two-time First-team All-Big Ten, and now a finalist for both the Bronco Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player) AND the Outland Trophy (best interior lineman).
Graham is in a class of his own, and it looks as though his domination will continue in the NFL. Combined with the might of defensive lineman Derrick Brown, Graham could help give Carolina one of the most nightmarish defensive fronts in all of football.
With a rare combination of size and explosiveness, McMillan has separated himself from the pack as the top receiver in the 2025 draft class. At 6’5, his catch radius is, for lack of a better word, insane. He’s currently a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, given to the best wide receiver in college football. He was named First-team All-Big 12 this season, and set the Arizona school record for most receiving yards in a career with 3,423 over the last three seasons. McMillan would finally give Carolina (and Bryce Young) a true number one receiver, one that doesn’t drop passes.
Following in the footsteps of former Nittany Lion Micah Parsons, Carter is one of the top pass rushers of this draft class. Carter has a style of play that has been compared to Parsons: despite weighing less than others at his position, he brings a unique blend of explosiveness and physicality. He was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year with ten sacks and two forced fumbles in 2024. Carolina is in desperate need of young and fast pass rushers; they currently rank in the bottom five of the league in sacks with only 25 as a unit so far this season. Carter would give them an immediate boost on the edge.
Another one of the top pass rushers about to enter the league, Scourton is a versatile weapon on the edge. He can line up at both outside linebacker and as a traditional defensive end, and is effective rushing from either side of the line. While his run defense could use some cleaning up, his ability as a pass rusher far outweighs any limitations he has as a run defender. He was named First-team All-SEC this year, and wreaked havoc at Purdue before transferring to Texas A&M. Scourton would immediately become Carolina’s top pass rusher.
Travis Hunter gets most of the attention when discussing the incoming cornerback class, and for good reason. In any other class, however, Johnson would be the number one cornerback prospect by far. At 6’2 and 202 pounds, he has good size for a corner, but his fluidity is what catches the eye first. He plays smooth, confident, and can lock down his target whether in man or zone coverage. He was named First-team All-American in 2023, but chose to sit for the remainder of this season after injuring his toe a few weeks ago. The Panthers could benefit greatly from putting a lockdown corner opposite of Jaycee Horn, who has dealt with various injuries throughout his career thus far.
The Panthers are a solid offseason away from finally competing in the NFC. With Young still on his rookie contract, the team needs to maximize the value of his rookie deal by bringing in as many playmakers as possible on both sides of the ball. A strong draft by GM Dan Morgan and a few solid signings in free agency will bring them one step closer to their first Lombardi, but it starts with nailing their first-round draft choice.
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