The Carolina Panthers inked edge rusher Jaelan Phillips to a four-year, $120 million pact. They also brought in linebacker Devin Lloyd on a three-year, $41.9 million deal. General Manager Dan Morgan orchestrated these acquisitions to strengthen the defense before Thursday’s 2026 NFL Draft.

Phillips notched just five sacks last season. Over five years with Miami and Philadelphia, he totaled 28 sacks. Knee and Achilles injuries sidelined him during his first three seasons, requiring surgeries. Morgan liked what he saw on Phillips’ film and how he’d mesh with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero’s 3-4 scheme.

“We felt like having a guy like Jaelen — who can play the run, can rush the passer, he can rush inside, he can rush outside — it just made too much sense for us, and (he’s) not a guy that we wanted to lose out on,” said Morgan, according to The Charlotte Observer.

Jacksonville declined Lloyd’s fifth-year option last offseason after three uneven years. The 2022 first-rounder bounced back hard in 2025, earning Pro Bowl honors with five interceptions.

“I think players mature at different rates,” Morgan said. “And I think Devin — I loved him coming out of Utah — but for one reason or another, guys just don’t develop as fast sometimes, and he definitely hit the ground running last year.”

Safety Nick Scott re-signed a one-year contract. He praised Evero’s knack for extracting peak performance from his roster. Scott mentioned Evero’s work with Tre’von Moehrig as evidence the coordinator knows how to unlock talent.

Evero landed a new contract after his unit improved last season. He nearly became head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders but lost out to Klint Kubiak.

Executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis hammered out both contracts. The front office has re-signed a dozen internal free agents over three months, mostly on one-year deals. They released defensive end A’Shawn Robinson, freeing up $10.5 million in cap space, and shipped backup quarterback Andy Dalton to Philadelphia for a 2027 seventh-round pick.

Carolina won the NFC South last year at 8-9, the worst record among playoff squads. They hold seven picks this week, selecting 19th in the first round.

“We’re not sitting there at 19 saying like, ‘Damn, I wish we were picking (at) eight,'” VP of Operations Brandt Tilis said, . “We’re sitting there at 19 saying, ‘We’re gonna get a good player at 19, and he’s gonna help us.'”

“So just seeing guys like Devin and Jaelan get picked up, I can only imagine how his wheels are turning,” said Scott, according to The Athletic. “You see what he did with Tre Moehrig. That to me is indicative of a guy that knows the game, a guy that knows his players and knows how to put them in positions to be successful.”