Cat Scratch Reader
A handful of second and third round prospects that perfectly fit the Carolina Panthers philosophy and needs
Thanks to a trade in 2024 with the Los Angeles Rams the Carolina Panthers have a pick in each of the first three rounds despite trading away their own second round pick for the rights to acquire Bryce Young. That second round pick is a huge boon for this draft class, but it will have to be used wisely for it to ultimately matter.
Earlier I wrote about which prospects destined for the first round would fit the Panthers the best, now it’s time for Day 2.
(Note: consensus ranks pulled from the Consensus Big Board on NFL Mock Draft Database)
A very good but not elite athlete, Amos might be able to slip to the Panthers pick at 57, although that might be a pipe dream considering Amos’ instincts and ball skills. If the Panthers ended up with a pick closer to the front or middle of the 2nd round, Amos’ productivity would make him a worthwhile addition to a secondary lacking talent beyond Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson.
Why he fits: Amos’ skillset and film projects an easy match with Ejiro Evero’s Cover 3-heavy scheme while his frame fits within the height and arm length thresholds for an outside corner that the Panthers seem to covet.
Taylor is the son of NFL Hall of Fame defender Jason Taylor and those bloodlines translate to the field. He is a smooth, natural athlete and it is easy to believe he’s just scratching the surface of his potential as he’ll only be turning 21 in May.
Why he fits: If the Panthers want to add quality weapons around their young quarterback, I can’t help but think back to the era of Cam Newton throwing to Greg Olsen and pine for a reliable tight end to grow alongside Young. Taylor would be the perfect passing game compliment to the current Tight end room and is already a satisfactory blocker despite his age.
Swinson was a bit of a late bloomer at LSU who’s best season was his last, totallying 9 sacks. The surface numbers won’t wow you, but he did have 22.1% pass rush win rate and 91.4 true pass set rush grade according to PFF. Swinson does not shy away from contact and showed he could win in a variety of ways despite not having a huge amount of playtime compared to others in this class. While not a dominant run defender, Swinson isn’t a liability either. Still, he will need to be more disciplined in this area to be a full time Edge in the NFL.
Why he fits: Swinson’s measurables in height, weight...
