Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! We’re all locked in on the NFL Draft which is less than a month away. Let’s dive into all your questions from this week!

@WTMealey: Who are players that are likely to be sniped from us in picks 12-18 and who are the teams that might have a similar need or just snatch that guy we hoped would fall a few more spots?

Honestly, basically every player drafted at 12-18 is someone who could theoretically benefit the Panthers, as they could use help all over the place. The Vikings are commonly the team drafting a player that many fans would like ahead of Carolina in many mock drafts at 18, and the Buccaneers have a lot of similar needs and only pick at 15. So pick number 19 still appears to be a good place to draft the best player available that falls, barring a positional run like wide receiver or offensive line.

Advertisement

carolinajerry: Do we really run Nickel enough to justify taking a CB in round 1? Mike Jack is a dog and Jaycee is lock down.

I think a cornerback could definitely be in the cards. Mike Jackson has been very good, and is likely looking to get paid again with another extension this off-season, but he is 29 so at some point his play at this level won’t last. Chau Smith-Wade is someone the coaching staff is high on at nickel and 2025 UDFA Corey Thornton should have a role in the secondary as well. But if the right guy falls, it could make sense to pull the trigger. It would give the Panthers a lot of flexibility in their nickel packages now (which is what teams run the majority of their defensive snaps in anyway) and they’d suddenly have a lot of depth at the position. I’m not rooting for it to happen, but I would understand if they used pick 19 on one.

carolinajerry: What do you think about Kenyon Sadiq and his fit among our already crowded (but mid) TE room? Are you concerned about his lack of production in college? His ability to make a immediate year 1 impact?

Sadiq is an interesting one to me. I definitely understand fans concerns on him, especially with the recent history of first round tight ends in his mold not working out. But, if Carolina did select him, they wouldn’t have to push him into an every down tight end and have him doing everything a starting NFL tight end has to do right away with the current room. They have guys who can do the job blocking so they could relegate him to a receiver role primarily early and take some of the burden off his shoulders as he acclimates. Tight end is one of those positions that doesn’t usually hit the ground running in year one as it is. He’s not my preference but I understand why he’s being paired with the Panthers so often.

Advertisement

OldhamA: How do we upgrade the QB position going into the 2026 season?

The Panthers definitely could go ahead and draft a developmental QB in the later rounds of the NFL Draft. I don’t see them doing that any earlier than the 4th round since Dan Morgan and co have made a point in interviews and press conferences to say the Panthers want to be competitive right now, so Bryce Young will get 2026 as QB1 barring an injury.

panthers2112: I made similar comments on another thread, but with Tillis coming from KC and seeing how that team built around Alex Smith before moving up to take Mahomes I have a feeling this is the approach him, Morgan, and Canales are taking with BY. He either figures it out, or gets replaced next season. Do you think this is the approach, or does Tepper clean house again if BY can’t clear the bar?

I just don’t see the team starting over and cleaning house even if Bryce Young ultimately gets moved on from in the next year or so. This coaching staff and front office are clearly trending in the right direction and seem to be building the team in a healthy way. They do spend big on a couple of signings in free agency, but their direction seems to be to focus on building around the QB right now, and if they had to move on I don’t think it would make sense to burn it all down and start over. They’ve got a good thing going here and a good culture, where I think the previous regime was in a much worse spot overall. They couldn’t draft well and the coaches didn’t seem to have a cohesive plan either.

Advertisement

Vashti2112: What positions do you hope are addressed through the first two days/three rounds of the draft?

I’m hoping the Panthers grab at least one safety and address somewhere on the trenches on both sides of the ball after the first 3 rounds. I’d be happy with a center or OT on offense, and I’d be happy with basically any one or two of a defensive lineman, EDGE player, or LB. The current position the Panthers are in, they should be able to take someone who can help them out at a position of need in every round, as they have good pieces but aren’t a “deep” roster overall.

PantherEarp: Are there any players currently projected to go top 10 that you could realistically see dropping to us? Whether it be because of physical attributes(short arms) or off the field behaviors.

There’s a lot of wide receiver talent that could theoretically go in round one, and it seems like it depends on who you ask as far as who the top guys in the class are. So there could be a great fit at WR that could drop to 19. I could also see Caleb Downs making it out of the top 10 because teams just don’t care about safeties for some reason.

Advertisement

Robholland211: Hi Brian,

Now that the weather is turning warmer, what are the first things you want to throw on the grill?

Burgers and dawgs baby! Gotta get warmed up!

Bruce Guild: With a great history of Panthers ILB who do you think D Lloyd matches up best to? His play style, physical skills, how he will be schemed and where he may ultimately fit into that list of Panther ILB’s when his playing days are done?

I don’t actually know how to answer this just yet. The last stud linebacker we saw in Evero’s scheme was Frankie Luvu and that doesn’t seem to be the type of player Devin Lloyd is. Shaq Thompson was pretty good in this scheme as well but he was definitely on the down trend of his career. So my answer to the question is, I don’t know, but I’m excited to break this down when we see it in action!

Advertisement

kilgore_trout: Brian: What are your thoughts on a trade with the Cowboys for George Pickens?

The Panthers would likely have to give up a first round pick or the equivalent after the Broncos traded for Jaylen Waddle and gave up pick 30 and a mid round pick. They would also then have to turn around and pay him. That would be a lot of resources allocated to wide receiver, I know many are already on the fence about drafting one at 19. I’m not a fan of this trade.

demaxx1: Brian: Dan Morgan has really got us set up for the BPS, I keep reading all these different mocks, and they are really all over the place for the pick at 19, TE, WR, OT, LB, FS. What are the chances that DM chooses a DT, and blows everyones mind??

Dan Morgan’s MO has been to beef up the trenches on both sides of the ball. With A’Shawn Robinson being released after playing a sizable role in this defense, I could absolutely see them pulling the trigger on a defensive tackle. And I wouldn’t hate the pick at all. It would help out Derrick Brown and likely help out the EDGE players as well. Give me all the beef.

Advertisement

KeepPounding88: Obviously still a long way to go until the draft, but as of today it seems like our pick is likely to come down to one of the following players: Thieneman, Woods, Faulk, Hill, Lomu, and Sadiq. Any preference among those guys?

I’m definitely a Dillon Thieneman guy, he would wrap up the secondary in a tight bow at free safety. Peter Woods at DT or Keldric Faulk at EDGE would continue the trend of adding to the trenches. That’s where I’m at with it, but an offensive tackle is something I wouldn’t hate either if they go that route.

Brazilian Panther: When Dan Morgan and Dave Canales draft my boy Chris Johnson from SDSU at 19 or 51, how many people here in CSR will be mad at me for turnin’ that into existence I wonder…

As I said above, a cornerback would be very understandable. And I do love me a “willing into existence” story. I’m with you!

That’s all for this week, Panthers fans! Join us next week for another edition of your weekly mailbag!