Panthers NFL Draft 2024 guide: Picks, predictions and key needs (2024)

The Beast, Dane Brugler’s expansive guide to the NFL Draft, is here.

The Carolina Panthers don’t have a first-round pick. They will make the first pick in the second round (No. 33) in the NFL Draft on April 25 in Detroit. The Panthers own seven total picks in the seven-round draft.

Panthers’ draft picks

Full draft order

Every pick in the seven-round NFL Draft.

NFL Draft details

• Round 1: April 25, 8 p.m. ET
• Rounds 2-3: April 26, 7 p.m. ET
• Rounds 4-7: April 27, noon ET

All rounds will be televised on ESPN/ABC and NFL Network and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.

About the Panthers

• Head coach: Dave Canales (first season with team)
• General manager: Dan Morgan (first season)
• Last year’s record: 2-15

After a dismal season in which Frank Reich didn’t make it to the end, the Panthers have a new coaching staff and new GM and have made some notable roster updates. The biggest? Take your pick. They recently signed edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney to a two-year deal. Maybe he won’t replace Brian Burns, who was traded to the Giants, but he is coming off a 9 1/2-sack season and filled a huge hole on Ejiro Evero’s defense. The Panthers also added guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis in free agency to better protect Bryce Young. And Young will be happy to see receiver Diontae Johnson lining up with the offense next season.

Panthers’ key position needs

Wide receiver: General manager Dan Morgan made it clear at the combine one of the top offseason goals was to surround Bryce Young with more playmakers. The Panthers took a first step by trading for former Steelers wideout Diontae Johnson, who was a volatile teammate in Pittsburgh but also a good route runner who can separate from coverage on both the first and second levels. Still, the Panthers need to keep adding to the receiving room, and the second round would seem like a good place to do so.

Cornerback: The Panthers sent starting corner Donte Jackson to Pittsburgh in the Johnson trade, but added a free-agent corner in Dane Jackson, whom Morgan lobbied the Bills to draft (in the seventh round) when Morgan worked with Brandon Beane in Buffalo. The Panthers also re-signed veteran nickel Troy Hill, but could stand to add an outside corner to compete with Jackson and provide depth.

Center: Morgan and Dave Canales completely overhauled the interior of the offensive line to shore up the protection and give the 5-10 Young clearer throwing lanes. After spending big on free-agent guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, the Panthers shifted right guard Austin Corbett to center, a position he hasn’t played since early in his career with Cleveland. The Panthers are confident Corbett can handle the transition, but adding a center as a backup and/or contingency plan from a well-regarded draft class makes sense.

Panthers draft analysis

Panthers’ pre-draft takeaways: On trading back, help for Bryce Young and Stephon Gilmore

Analyzing all of the Panthers’ picks in Dane Brugler’s 7-round mock draft

Panthers’ post-free agency depth chart: Where holes remain before NFL Draft

Which NFL teams’ quarterback depth charts are in the best shape heading into the 2024 NFL draft?

Panthers’ NFL Draft big board: 20 possible targets, including many who could help Bryce Young

Dan Morgan’s path to Panthers GM: A tenacious LB, some puking and budding talent evaluator

What’s next for the Panthers?

The Athletic’s latest mock drafts

April 19: 2024 analytics mock draft: What the projections tell us

April 17: 7-round mock draft: Dane Brugler predicts all 257 picks
Grabbing a couple of offensive playmakers on Day 1 and 2

April 8: Panthers 7-round mock, 2.0
A WR in Round 2? Yes, but not the one you’ve grown to expect

April 8: Nick Baumgardner’s 3-round mock
WR, edge, tight end for Carolina’s first three picks?

April 4: Bruce Feldman projects Round 1
Panthers go for fastest player in the draft

March 25: Panthers 7-round mock
Person sticks to what he believes Carolina needs most.

March 21: Beat writer mock draft 2.0
Person takes Georgia WR Ladd McConkey with the Panthers’ second-round pick.

March 5: Dane Brugler’s post-combine mock draft
Brugler has the Panthers trading up three spots into the first round.

Feb. 22: Beat writer mock draft 1.0
It’s been clear all along that the Panthers need to give Young help at receiver.

Panthers’ last five top picks

2023: QB Bryce Young, No. 1 — After trading a lot to the Chicago Bears to get the top pick, the Panthers handed the offense over to the rookie in Week 1. He played 16 games and struggled — he completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards, 11 TDs and 10 interceptions. He also was sacked a whopping 62 times. Canales has made connecting with Young a top priority before Year 2.

2022: OT Ikem Ekwonu, No. 6 — By the end of his rookie season in 2022, Ekwonu looked like the long-term answer at left tackle for the Panthers. But his second-season struggles resulted in a lot of blindside pressure and sacks on Young. His third season will go a long way in the Panthers deciding whether Ekwonu is a franchise left tackle.

2021: CB Jaycee Horn, No. 8 — It’s been difficult to access how good Horn is or can be because he’s only played in 22 of a possible 51 games in his three seasons due to various injuries. He intercepted three passes in 13 games in 2022 — the most he’s played in a season — and the Panthers would like to see him put together a full season before rendering a verdict on his future.

2020: DT Derrick Brown, No. 7 — After two so-so seasons to start his NFL career, Brown was better in Year 3 and a Pro-Bowler last season. He totaled an astounding 103 tackles last season, seven tackles for loss and 15 QB hits — and the Panthers rewarded him for it. The Panthers and Brown agreed to a four-year, $96 million extension on April 5.

2019: DE Brian Burns, No. 16 — Burns made the Pro Bowl in his third and fourth seasons and totaled 46 sacks in his first five seasons. He was the Panthers’ best defensive player most days. But after not reaching an agreement on an extension, the Panthers gave him the franchise tag earlier this month and then traded him to the Giants less than a week later.

(Photo of Ladd McConkey: Jeffrey Vest / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)