Griffin Wong previews and breaks down everything you need to know about the Carolina Panthers heading into the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
The Carolina Panthers took a major stride forward in 2025, winning the NFC South for the first time since 2015, when Cam Newton led a charge all the way to the Super Bowl<\/a>. 2023 first overall pick Bryce Young entered the 2025 season with plenty of questions as to whether he could be the starting quarterback of the future \u2014 Carolina benched him for part of the 2024 season in favor of veteran Andy Dalton \u2014 but he bounced back with a solid finish to the season, and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan won Offensive Rookie of the Year after being the first Panthers rookie to hit the 1,000-yard threshold since Kelvin Benjamin in 2014. Carolina\u2019s record (8-9) suggests that it still has plenty of work to do, but it came within 38 seconds of beating the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round after entering the game as a substantial underdog.<\/p>\n The Panthers, seeing how wide-open the NFC South continually is, were aggressive in the offseason, bringing outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips in on a massive deal. They also improved elsewhere in their linebacker corps, adding inside linebacker Devin Lloyd to man the middle. While some important players, including running back Rico Dowdle, defensive tackle A\u2019Shawn Robinson, and center Cade Mays left, Carolina improved massively overall, especially since it re-upped at offensive line by adding left tackle Rasheed Walker. The Panthers (+9000) currently have only the 24th-best odds<\/a> to win the Super Bowl at DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a>, but another division title<\/a> (+320) is certainly within the realm of possibility.<\/p>\n Carolina\u2019s recent draft history has been a mixed bag. Arguably its strongest performance came in 2020, when it added Pro Bowl defensive tackle Derrick Brown and safety Jeremy Chinn, but 2021 (two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn and running back Chuba Hubbard) also produced a pair of strong contributors. The jury is still out on Young\u2019s worthiness for the top overall pick, and 2024 32nd overall pick Xavier Legette has been disappointing, but McMillan and Nic Scourton headlined a solid 2025 class. On Thursday, Panthers general manager Dan Morgan will have seven overall picks to use.<\/p>\n Carolina Panthers 2026 NFL Draft Picks<\/p>\n Round 1 \u2014 19th overall<\/p>\n Round 2 \u2014 51st overall<\/p>\n Round 3 \u2014 83rd overall<\/p>\n Round 4 \u2014 119th overall<\/p>\n Round 5 \u2014 158th overall<\/p>\n Round 5 \u2014 159th overall<\/p>\n Round 6 \u2014 200th overall<\/p>\n Carolina Panthers Team Needs<\/p>\n Carolina fulfilled its biggest need during free agency, signing Phillips after finishing third-to-last in sacks and second-to-last in pressure rate and Pro Football Focus\u2019 pass rushing grades during the 2025 season. Though Phillips recorded just five sacks last season, he had 14 quarterback hits and 35 pressures, ranking 22nd among 110 qualified edge rushers by PFF\u2019s pass rushing grades. Additionally, the Panthers had a bottom-half rushing defense and allowed the ninth-most net passing yards per attempt, so Lloyd \u2014 a well-rounded player who ranked third of 88 linebackers by PFF\u2019s standards and ranked second in the league in interceptions \u2014 was a stellar signing. Carolina could still draft another linebacker at some point in the draft, but it won\u2019t be as much of a priority as it might have been prior to the Phillips and Lloyd signings.<\/p>\n