{"id":701368,"date":"2026-01-24T11:49:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T11:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/701368\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T11:49:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T11:49:15","slug":"nfl-mock-draft-thankfully-forecasts-panthers-taking-first-clemson-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/701368\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Mock Draft Thankfully Forecasts Panthers Taking First Clemson Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2023, the Carolina Panthers<\/a> finished dead last in the NFL with only 27 sacks. One season later, the team totaled 32 quarterback traps\u2014tied for the third-fewest in the league. In 2025, coordinator Ejiro Evero\u2019s unit was improved in many aspects. Once again, Carolina finished tied for the third-fewest sacks in the NFL (30).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s yet another way to put the Panthers\u2019 pass-rushing problems in perspective. The team has totaled a combined 89 sacks the past three seasons, the fewest in the league over that span. Conversely, the Denver Broncos <\/a>have amassed an imposing 131 sacks\u2026since 2024.<\/p>\n

A year ago, University of Georgia edge rusher Jalon Walker was a popular pre-draft choice when forecasting who Panthers\u2019 general manager Dan Morgan with the eighth overall pick last April. Instead, Carolina opted for wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who may very well be named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year on February 5.<\/p>\n

Nate Tice and Charles McDonald <\/a>of Yahoo! Sports combined for the site\u2019s latest NFL mock draft. Tice handled the even number picks, and Macdonald took care of the odd figures. That means the latter did the picking for the Panthers at No. 19, and his choice was Clemson University pass-rusher<\/a> T.J. Parker.<\/p>\n

\"Nic<\/p>\n

Oct 26, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) scrambles against Carolina Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton (11) during the first half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Panthers still need a ton of playmakers on both sides of the ball, but getting after the passer has been a huge problem for them, and it was again for much of (The) wild-card loss to the Rams. They start to attempt to alleviate that with the selection of Parker here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan used a second-round pick on Texas A&M\u2019s Nic Scourton<\/a> a year ago, and he responded with five sacks\u2014tied for the team lead. He also used a third-round selection on Mississippi\u2019s Princely Umanmielen <\/a>(1.5 sacks) and signed Patrick Jones II <\/a>(Vikings) in free agency, but the latter finished the season on IR. It goes without saying that getting after opposing quarterbacks has been a major concern <\/a>for the current NFC South champions.<\/p>\n

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

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NFL insider suggests Broncos add Cam Newton after Bo Nix injury<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2023, the Carolina Panthers finished dead last in the NFL with only 27 sacks. One season later,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701369,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":{"0":"post-701368","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\/115949927200852190","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701368","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=701368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}