{"id":709976,"date":"2026-01-27T22:42:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/709976\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T22:42:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:42:22","slug":"nfl-mock-draft-gives-carolina-panthers-blessing-on-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/709976\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Mock Draft Gives Carolina Panthers Blessing on Defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

There used to be the storied argument between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. <\/a>Was it duck season or rabbit season?<\/p>\n

More important, when it comes to the National Football League, it\u2019s currently mock draft season. There are numerous authors and there will be updated versions, right up until the event kicks off on April 23 in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

The Carolina Panthers <\/a>are now the reigning NFC South champions<\/a>, but finished with an 8-9 record. They put up a gallant fight against the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> in the playoffs, but the truth is that Dave Canales\u2019s improved team closed out 2025 with three consecutive choices.<\/p>\n

Panthers\u2019 general manager Dan Morgan and the team will have the 19th overall pick in April. Cody Williams of FanSided has Canales\u2019s club opting for Auburn University edge rusher Keldric Faulk<\/a>, a player this analyst doesn\u2019t appear to be entirely high on. \u201cI said it last week and I’ll say it again,\u201d explained Williams, \u201cKeldric Faulk i<\/a>sn’t my cup of tea on the whole. There’s a legitimate chance, in my estimation, that he falls to the very end of the first round, if not to Day 2. Having said that, smarter and more plugged-in people than myself still have him even higher than this, so I’ll meet in the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Keldrick<\/p>\n

Auburn Tigers defensive end Keldric Faulk (15) celebrates a stop as Auburn Tigers take on South Alabama Jaguars at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. Auburn Tigers lead South Alabama Jaguars 28-9 at halftime. | Jake Crandall\/ Advertiser \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of Faulk would fit well with the Panthers defense,\u201d added Williams. \u201cWhile his lack of pass-rush production is a concern, he’s a versatile inside-out body with a big frame for an edge, and can be an elite run defender on the edge right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faulk spent three seasons with the Tigers<\/a>, and totaled just 10.0 sacks in 27 games. It\u2019s worth noting that seven of those QB traps in 2024, when he finished with a career-best 45 tackles in a dozen games. Williams noted that he felt that the 6\u20196\u201d, 285-pound prospect<\/a> could aid a team against the run. The Panthers were much-improved in this aspect from 2024, when they allowed a league-high 179.8 yards per game. They knocked that down to 123.3 yards per game rushing this past season, so there\u2019s obviously more work to be done here.<\/p>\n

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

Carolina Panthers connected to Super Bowl-bound wide receiver<\/a><\/p>\n

Panthers pass on stud Ohio State LB in latest NFL mock draft<\/a><\/p>\n

Super Bowl 60 matchup showcases how far Panthers must come<\/a><\/p>\n

Carolina Panthers linked to two-time Super Bowl champion in free agency<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There used to be the storied argument between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Was it duck season or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709977,"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-709976","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":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709976","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=709976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}