Jan. 13, 2026, 1:56 p.m. ET

Dan Morgan has yet to prove that he hit a home run with the 2024 draft class, his very first as the president of football operations/general manager of the Carolina Panthers. But he’s still practicing patience on it.

On Tuesday morning, Morgan spoke with reporters to put a bow on the 2025 campaign. The season, one that ended in the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2017, didn’t include running back Jonathon Brooks—the team’s second-round pick from two years ago.

Morgan was asked about the outlook for Brooks, who is still recovering from his second ACL tear.

“First off, just seeing Jonathon around the facility every day, the way that he attacks his rehab, the way that he attacks the weight room, just always around the building with a smile on his face—he’s been through so much adversity and he’s overcoming it,” he stated. “He’s looking great, he’s running really well. I saw him running routes out there the other day, he looked great.

“So, yeah, he’s doing really good. I’m really proud of him and the way he’s attacked this rehab process. It’s not easy. He’s done great at it. We’ll see where he’s at. Again, we’ll take it week by week, month by month. But he’s headed in a good direction.”

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Carolina drafted Brooks with 2024’s 46th overall pick despite his first ACL tear, which occurred in the previous season at the University of Texas. Brooks debuted in Week 12 of his rookie year, only to sustain the same injury to the same knee just three games later.

Morgan was later asked about his 2024 first-round pick, wide receiver Xavier Legette, and his 2024 third-round pick, Trevin Wallace—both of whom had underwhelming sophomore showings.

“I feel good about them,” he replied. “I think we’re all so quick to judge these guys. They’re maybe not developing as quick as the outside wants, but I think you have to be patient with these guys. I think you gotta let ’em develop, I think you gotta let ’em grow.

“I think Trevin’s still 22 years old. Xavier, it took him ’til his senior year to really start developing and coming into his own at South Carolina. So, I think we take a patient approach with those guys, we let ’em develop and keep getting better.”

Legette experienced dips across the board, as he amassed just 35 receptions for 363 yards and three touchdowns in 2025. He also saw a decrease in usage to end the season, which resulted in a career-low 31.4-percent snap share from Week 18.

Wallace, for the second straight year, had his season end prematurely due to a shoulder injury. He finished with 61 combined tackles and 2.0 sacks over 12 games.

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