{"id":850840,"date":"2026-04-03T05:59:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T05:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850840\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T05:59:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T05:59:20","slug":"carolina-panthers-2026-nfl-draft-guide-the-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/850840\/","title":{"rendered":"Carolina Panthers 2026 NFL Draft Guide \u2013 The Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a rocky start to the 2025 season, the Carolina Panthers rallied to reach the playoffs behind record-setting production from Rico Dowdle<\/a> and improved consistency from quarterback Bryce\u00a0 Young.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Carolina\u2019s season ended with a close Wild Card loss to the Rams, but the run set the stage for a\u00a0 2026 push. GM Dan Morgan<\/a> attacked free agency, adding high-end defensive talent with linebacker Devin Lloyd<\/a> and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panthers Draft Picks:<\/p>\n

Round 1: No. 19
\nRound 2: No. 51
\nRound 3: No. 83
\nRound 4: No. 119
\nRound 5: No. 158 (from Vikings)
\nRound 5: No. 159
\nRound 6: No. 200<\/p>\n

Morgan now turns to the draft with several picks available to use. While he has emphasized \u201cflexibility\u201d<\/a> in the draft, there are still several positions that the Panthers need to fill.<\/p>\n

Panthers Positions of Need:<\/p>\n

Panthers Key Draft Targets:
\nDillon Thieneman<\/a> \u2013 Safety \u2013 Oregon\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a safety-rich class, Oregon\u2019s Dillon Thieneman could fill Carolina\u2019s biggest hole: a fast,\u00a0 physical defender with strong tackling and explosiveness. If he\u2019s available at No. 19, he should be a top option, though some projections<\/a> have him going one pick earlier to Minnesota.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the Panthers don\u2019t get Thieneman, there is a boatload of options at safety that they can still find great success with. However, Thieneman should be priority number one.<\/p>\n

Jacob Rodriguez<\/a> \u2013 LB \u2013 Texas Tech<\/p>\n

Even after reshaping the linebacker room in free agency, Texas Tech\u2019s Jacob Rodriguez remains a strong Day 2 target for the Panthers to go and get. He\u2019s already met twice with Panthers staff and had great things<\/a> to say about the organization. Rodriguez could certainly be in play for the\u00a0 Panthers to snatch in the second round.<\/p>\n

Max Klare<\/a> \u2013 TE \u2013 Ohio State\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ohio State tight end Max Klare stands out if Carolina waits until later in the draft to fill their need at tight end. At 6-foot-5, he offers a big target who can stretch the field and line up in multiple spots across the line. Drafting Klare would certainly be a risk due to his size, but one that the Panthers could be inclined to take.<\/p>\n

Jake Slaughter<\/a> \u2013 C \u2013 Florida\u00a0<\/p>\n

With Cade Mays<\/a> gone, center is a clear priority for the Panthers. Florida\u2019s Jake Slaughter, an experienced, five-year starter and Second-Team All-American, could challenge for snaps immediately, while also offering a long-term answer beyond the team\u2019s one-year Luke Fortner<\/a> addition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the Panthers, it will be a matter of how long they can wait<\/a> to snatch up Slaughter, with several teams sure to be eyeing him as a potential successor to their aging centers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a rocky start to the 2025 season, the Carolina Panthers rallied to reach the playoffs behind record-setting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":850841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2075],"tags":[4955,235,260,2567,19134,7,6,15,236],"class_list":{"0":"post-850840","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-carolina-panthers","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-carolina","10":"tag-carolina-panthers","11":"tag-carolinapanthers","12":"tag-dillon-thieneman","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-nfl-draft","16":"tag-panthers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116339249321404532","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850840","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=850840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}