{"id":684033,"date":"2026-01-17T11:10:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T11:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/684033\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T11:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T11:10:16","slug":"nfl-draft-expert-predicts-panthers-go-for-familiar-uninspiring-position","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/684033\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL draft expert predicts Panthers go for familiar, uninspiring position"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carolina Panthers<\/a> are one week removed from their first playoff appearance since 2017. It proved to be a heartbreaking Saturday in Charlotte vs. the Los Angeles Rams as Dave Canales\u2019s team was on the wrong end<\/a> of a 34-31 score.<\/p>\n

That means it\u2019s the offseason for the team. And there\u2019s already a few 2026 mock drafts out there forecasting who the Panthers could target with the 19th overall pick in April.<\/p>\n

Last offseason, general manager Dan Morgan addressed the worst defense in the league in 2024, via free agency and the draft. According to one NFL draft analyst, he may be getting ready to do that again and this time around, use a first-round pick on a defensive lineman for the first time since 2020.<\/p>\n

Dane Brugler<\/a> of The Athletic has Morgan and the Panthers taking Clemson University defensive tackle Peter Woods<\/a> on April 23 in Pittsburgh.<\/a> It\u2019s not the first mock draft out there<\/a> to have Morgan opting for this Tiger to become a Panther.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be serious contenders in the NFC, explained Brugler, \u201cthe Panthers need more impact players on the defensive line. Woods didn\u2019t have the 2025 season that evaluators expected, but he is a nimble big man with the agility to threaten gaps and chase the football. One would like to see more proof of concept on his tape, but the flashes show an ascending player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carolina\u2019s defense was certainly improved this past season, although it couldn\u2019t get much worse than it was a year ago. The season started with the club giving up exactly 200 yards rushing in a 26-10 loss at Jacksonville. Even if you include that game, the Panthers went from allowing 179.8 yards per game on the ground in 2024 to 123.3 yards per game rushing this past season (20th in the NFL).<\/p>\n

\"Derrick<\/p>\n

Dec 21, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive end Derrick Brown (95) during the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Still, with Derrick Brown <\/a>looking like a Pro Bowler again, veteran A\u2019Shawn Robinson having a bounce back season, and last year\u2019s additions of free agents Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown III, as well as fifth-round draft choice Cam Jackson, is defensive tackle a screaming need for the NFC South champions?<\/p>\n

– Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI –<\/p>\n

5 Panther free agents who absolutely must be re-signed<\/a><\/p>\n

Potential Panthers FA target dubbed player to avoid<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Kenyon Sadiq is perfect draft fit for Carolina Panthers<\/a><\/p>\n

Carolina Panthers 1.0 mock draft after playoff elimination<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Carolina Panthers are one week removed from their first playoff appearance since 2017. It proved to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":{"0":"post-684033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-carolina-panthers","8":"tag-carolina","9":"tag-carolina-panthers","10":"tag-carolinapanthers","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-panthers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115910138455816176","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}