Cat Scratch Reader
Dan Morgan engineered several draft day trades then selected Xavier Legette in the first round and Jonathon Brooks in the second. Did the strategy pay off?
The Panthers hired Dan Morgan as president of football operations and general manager on January 22, 2024. Morgan is a Panthers “lifer” after spending his seven-year NFL career in Charlotte from 2001 through 2007 then spending years in the Panthers front office. Let’s take a look back on Morgan’s rookie season as GM. We’ve previously evaluated his performance with trades and with free agents.
Let’s now assess Morgan’s 2024 draft day performance. Part One will focus on draft day trades plus first and second round pick picks, while Part Two will focus on players drafted in Rounds 3-7.
Draft day trades
Before evaluating the players the Panthers drafted, we need to look at Carolina’s draft day trades. As long-time Cat Scratch Reader members know, I play the role of Benevolent Dictator of Trade Down Island. My view is the draft is mostly educated guesswork and the more picks a team has, the more likely they are to win the draft over the long term. Here’s the net effect of Dan Morgan’s 2024 draft day trades that only included picks, not players. Picks that were acquired then later traded away are struck through:
Picks Panthers received: No. 32, 46, 52, 72, 155, 157, 200; 2025 2nd round (No. 57)
Picks Panthers gave up: No. 33, 39, 52, 65, 141, 142, 155
These trades please your benevolent dictator!
Dan Morgan manufactured an additional 2025 second round pick (No. 57) without giving up significant value in 2024 or trading away future picks. THAT’S THE WAY WE ROLL ON TRADE DOWN ISLAND!
When it came to the most important picks - those in the Top 75 - Carolina moved up one spot from 33 (first pick in the second round) to No. 32 (last pick in the first round) which gives them a potentially valuable fifth-year option on wide receiver Xavier Legette, whom they drafted at No. 32.
The Panthers moved down seven spots twice, from No. 39 to No. 46 and from No. 65 to No. 72, but sacrificed very little doing so as the quality of players available at those spots is nearly identical. Yes, it hurts a little bit to give up Nos. 141 and 142 for Nos. 157 and 200, but it’s more than worth it for the additional 2025 second round pick.
Draft day trade grade: B+
Draft day performance
It’s a bit of a fool’s errand to evaluate a draft class after just one season because we still don’t know what type of player these guys will be in three or four years, but one season is all the data we have.
When grading draft picks it’s important to measure their performance relative to rookie expectations. My general criteria is that first round picks should be Year 1 starters, second rounders rookies should be regular contributors, third and fourth rounders should yield...
