{"id":864527,"date":"2026-04-12T04:57:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T04:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864527\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T04:57:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T04:57:29","slug":"field-yates-reveals-ideal-panthers-picks-but-theres-one-thing-missing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864527\/","title":{"rendered":"Field Yates Reveals Ideal Panthers&#8217; Picks, But There&#8217;s One Thing Missing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">The Carolina Panthers currently have seven <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/luke-kuechly-reveals-ideal-lb-draft-pick-and-panthers-should-listen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">picks to make <\/a>in the first six rounds of the NFL draft. With those seven picks, we can expect them to be spent on a few different positions: safety, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, and linebacker. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">To that end, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/draft2026\/story\/_\/id\/48428742\/2026-nfl-draft-latest-buzz-rumors-news-mocks-predictions-jets-lions-chargers-panthers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Field Yates has laid out the ideal usage<\/a> of the seven picks, hitting most of the positions the Panthers need to hit:<\/p>\n<p>19. Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon51. Caleb Tiernan, OT, Northwestern83. Jalen Farmer, G, Kentucky119. Joe Royer, TE, Cincinnati158. Kendrick Law, WR, Kentucky159. Logan Fano, Edge, Utah200. Thaddeus Dixon, CB, North Carolina<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">For the most part, the Panthers get someone at the biggest positions of need, but there&#8217;s one thing missing: a truly impactful pass-catcher. <\/p>\n<p>Panthers&#8217; ideal draft class has no elite pass-catcher<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01knvrdcdp52t1h83w8c.jpg\" alt=\"Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) runs with the ball during the first half \" title=\"Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) runs with the ball during the first half \" width=\"6978\" height=\"3925\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"72\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) runs with the ball during the first half  | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"76\">It was recently reported that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/draft\/panthers-oscar-delp-draft-tight-end-kenyon-sadiq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the Panthers consider getting a high-end pass-catcher a priority<\/a> in the draft. Jordan Reid noted that this may mean a third straight round-one wide receiver. Plenty of mock drafts expect Kenyon Sadiq to be a Panther, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/draft\/panthers-potential-selection-kenyon-sadiq-isnt-without-risk-rocks-anyway\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">we covered the fact that it could be a good idea<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"79\">In that draft class from Field Yates, neither can be found. Reid also reported that the Panthers love Oscar Delp as a mid-round tight end, but he&#8217;s not picked here, either. It&#8217;s a good draft class that checks a lot of boxes, but it leaves one absent.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7c\">With all due respect to Kendrick Law and Joe Royer, they&#8217;re not Makai Lemon\/KC Concepcion\/Denzel Boston\/Jordyn Tyson or Kenyon Sadiq\/Oscar Delp. Fourth and fifth-round prospects aren&#8217;t the answer to Carolina&#8217;s most pressing need. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7f\">Getting Dillon Thieneman in the first is a big win. Grabbing Caleb Tiernan in the second round is a good pick, too. Each one comes at a cost. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/draft\/carolina-panthers-draft-plans-offensive-tackle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">We recently wrote about how tackle shouldn&#8217;t be a priority<\/a> in the early going since it&#8217;s a future need, not a present one. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01knvrf06xma53z42zt7.jpg\" alt=\"Northwestern offensive lineman Caleb Tiernan (OL50) speaks to members of the media \" title=\"Northwestern offensive lineman Caleb Tiernan (OL50) speaks to members of the media \" width=\"6528\" height=\"3672\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7p\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Northwestern offensive lineman Caleb Tiernan (OL50) speaks to members of the media  | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7t\">So, passing on a tight end or wide receiver there, even if the aforementioned prospects (sans Delp) are off the board, is not the smartest idea. The Panthers need to help Bryce Young now, and at this time, he has two good tackles blocking for him. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7w\">It is going to be difficult for the Panthers to address their three biggest holes (safety, wide receiver, and tight end) in a meaningful way at the beginning of the draft, so some compromises will have to be made. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7z\">Unfortunately, the compromises made in Yates&#8217; predicted draft class leave the Panthers without real answers at wide receiver and tight end. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Carolina Panthers currently have seven picks to make in the first six rounds of the NFL draft.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864528,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":{"0":"post-864527","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\/116389967239555289","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864527","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=864527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}