Panthers' final 7-round mock: Playmakers for Bryce Young — and for the defense (2024)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When you reach version 3.0 of mock draft season, you’re looking for any nugget of inspiration to help get you to the finish line.

Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan provideth.

During a pre-draft news conference last week with Morgan and first-year coach Dave Canales, both stressed they aren’t just looking for playmakers to put around Bryce Young. Morgan specifically said the focus was finding players who could score on offense and make things happen on defense.

And then Morgan dared the mock drafters in the room to read the tea leaves and figure out whom the Panthers might be targeting.

“We would all admit we didn’t take the ball away enough last year on the defensive side of the ball. I think that is an emphasis,” Morgan said, referring to a defense that finished last in the league and tied a franchise low with 11 takeaways.

Then this: “Whether you read into that or not on who that is that we’re interested in, that’s to be seen. But yeah, we wanna take the ball away. We wanna put the ball in the end zone. That’s our emphasis.”

So as we embarked on this seven-round journey a final time before Thursday’s opening night of the NFL Draft, we paid special attention to touchdown-makers on offense and ballhawks on defense in what proved to be a fun exercise.

As was the case with our first two iterations, we had the Panthers trading back in the second round. But this time with a twist: The Panthers only moved back one spot, assuring they’d still have two of the first seven picks on Day 2.

Let’s start with the trade: Panthers send picks 33 and 142 to the New England Patriots for picks 34 and 103, plus a seventh-round selection in 2025.

The Patriots wanted to make sure no one jumped in front of them for their guy (Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson in the Pro Football Network draft simulator) and were willing to surrender a fourth-round pick for a fifth to do so. The trade gave the Panthers five picks in the first 103 selections in what appears to be a savvy move, provided they’re sure New England isn’t taking their guy.

Round 2, Pick 34 (from Patriots)

Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina

There were wideouts available at the top of the second with more receiving touchdowns in college than Legette, and I gave serious consideration to Oregon’s Troy Franklin, who had 23 TDs the past two seasons. But I keep hearing the Panthers are high on the 6-1, 221-pound Legette, who is about the same height as Franklin and a tick faster despite outweighing him by a chiseled 45 pounds. Legette had one big year for the Gameco*cks, with seven TD catches last fall. He also averaged 17.7 yards a catch and was clocked at 22.3 mph against Mississippi State, the fastest time by a ball carrier in the NCAA or NFL in 2023. And though The Athletic’s Dane Brugler compared Franklin to DJ Chark, Brugler’s comp for Legette was DK Metcalf, whom Canales was with in Seattle. He’s also a dynamic kick returner.

Round 2, Pick 39 (from Giants)

Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Texas A&M

Linebacker isn’t an immediate need for the Panthers. It wasn’t in 2015 either, but Dave Gettleman still took Shaq Thompson in the first round as a future successor to Thomas Davis. But as of Sunday, Thompson is now 30 and it’s probably wise to start thinking about drafting his replacement. Enter Cooper, who reportedly visited the Panthers after leading the Aggies in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks and forced fumbles. He’s the only player in this draft class who led his team in all those categories, per Brugler. That sounds like someone who has a nose for the football (a la the departed Frankie Luvu) and can help in the takeaway department.

Round 3, Pick 65

Mike Sainristil, CB, Michigan

The Massachusetts native spent three seasons at wide receiver for the Wolverines before switching to defense, where he played mostly nickel but also lined up at outside corner on 22.1 percent of his snaps. Sainristil, voted the team MVP on the nation’s top-ranked defense, finished third in FBS with six interceptions, including two he returned for touchdowns. He also had 12 pass breakups, looking very much like someone who can take the ball away. He’s a little slight at 5-9 and 182. So the Panthers could play him at nickel as a rookie, sign Stephon Gilmore to play corner and let Sainristil move outside in a year or so after a little seasoning.

Round 4, Pick 101

Theo Johnson, TE, Penn State

This was the spot where I picked a tight end in each of the first two mocks, including Johnson in the first go-round. So I wasn’t about to switch it up now. With Texas’ Ja’Tavion Sanders and Kansas State’s Ben Sinnott off the board, Johnson again was the choice. The 6-6, 259-pound Canadian would become the Panthers’ biggest tight end if he winds up in Charlotte, giving Young a good-sized target in the middle of the field. He’s a bit faster than Sanders and Sinnott. And though he didn’t catch a lot of passes at Penn State, he made the most of them. Johnson’s seven receiving TDs in 2023 — reading the tea leaves alert! — led the Nittany Lions.

Round 4, Pick 103 (from Patriots)

Brenden Rice, WR, USC

It’s easy to make too much of things this time of year, and we might have been guilty of it after watching Rice’s appearance on Kay Adams’ show last week. Rice, the son of Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice, talked excitedly about how it would be “amazing” to play with Young while mentioning his connections to Panthers receivers coach Rob Moore (a family friend) and quarterbacks coach Will Harriger, who was at USC in 2022. Rice smiled when asked whether he met with Panthers owner David Tepper during his pre-draft visit to Charlotte, declining to answer the question. It’s easy to see Tepper being enamored of Rice’s background and engaging personality. Morgan and Canales could be swayed by his production: Rice’s 12 TD receptions tied for ninth in FBS in 2023, and 80 percent of his catches resulted in a first down or touchdown.

Round 5, Pick 141 (from Giants)

Cedric Johnson, edge, Ole Miss

It gets a little tougher to find obvious difference-makers late in the draft. But Johnson, who was Brugler’s pick in this spot in his last seven-round mock, is an intriguing, Day 3 pick because of his length (6-3, 260), athleticism and upside. Johnson flashed as a backfield disruptor as a sophom*ore, when he collected 6 1/2 sacks, eight tackles for loss and a forced fumble. After a less productive junior season, Johnson closed his college career by leading Ole Miss with 5 1/2 sacks in 2023, when he also broke up three passes and forced a fumble.

Round 7, Pick 240 (from Steelers)

Ryan Watts, DB, Texas

Auburn safety Jaylin Simpson was available here in the PFN simulator. But Brugler and other draft analysts have Simpson pegged as a fourth- or fifth-round prospect, so it seems unlikely he would still be on the board. But Watts might be after an uneven career that began with two seasons as a backup at Ohio State, where he tied for the team lead with two interceptions in 2021. Watts started at corner for two years with the Longhorns, but didn’t get his hands on many passes. Watts (6-3, 213) tested well at the combine and could end up at safety at the next level. Like Johnson, Watts also looks like a good fit on special teams.

(Top photo of Xavier Legette: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)