Cat Scratch Reader
The Panthers made a concerted effort to give Bryce Young weapons around him to help him succeed.
The NFL Draft has concluded, and the Panthers have made their picks. They moved up and down the draft to get the players they wanted early, but stood pat in the later rounds once the dust settled after day two. They added to positions of need, however that wasn’t hard to do given the abundance of need across the board for the team. Lets dive in.
The Panthers added a dynamic playmaker who specialized in 50/50 balls in his senior year and home run plays. With 1,255 yards and 7 TDs on 71 receptions, Legette got himself on the Panthers radar. His route tree needs to be expanded upon, but early on he should be an explosive kick returner with plenty of YAC value. The Panthers loved him and this pick was very obvious going into the Draft. They traded up from 33 to acquire his services.
The Panthers found themselves arguably the top RB in this class in Brooks, who fell down draft boards due to a torn ACL in 2023. He’s expected to be ready by July, and brings an explosive skillset as a runner. He’s still learning pass blocking and vision on zone runs, but this pick was never about year one. He can be an every down back in the NFL when the Panthers unleash him and he has significantly less tread on his tires than most of the top runningbacks taken in previous drafts.
The Panthers eventually needed to invest in this position with Frankie Luvu leaving in free agency and Shaq Thompson at the twilight of his career. The Panthers elected to choose an athletic linebacker with that “dawg” in him as Dan Morgan so desires. He’s athletic, he tackles well, and he rushes the passer proficiently as an off ball linebacker. All the scouting reports I have read show the mental aspect of the game is his biggest shortfall, and his instincts need refining pre-snap. Still, there’s enough there to be a plus starter given time. While he may be a project, this project has issues that are far more correctable than previous projects. Dude can hit.
The Panthers tight end room has been in desperate need of infusion on the receiving aspect. They got that. Sanders had over 1,200 yards and 7 TDs receiving in his final two seasons at Texas. Many had him mocked in the 2-3rd rounds of the NFL Draft, so this pick could end up being a steal.
Smith-Wade mainly excelled in tackles and pass breakups in college at Washington State. He’s a smaller corner at 5’10” and 185 lbs, so my expectation would be he’s slotted to possibly fill that nickel...
