With Pro Football Focus, we get their Top 100 Big Board for NFL Teams, using their influence, knowledge, and connections to try to assemble what might be the Carolina Panthers Draft Board. This year, I am going to be honest… if it’s true, we are in a lot of trouble. Notable names that are inside the top 10 are Shemar Stewart EDGE, graded as a Starter, Mason Graham, DT graded as just rotational, and even Tetairoa McMillan WR as rotational. The only star graded wide receivers, for example, as WR Matthew Golden, Luther Burden III, and Emeka Egbuka – leaving out the class WR1 in McMillan.
I believe this is not only an eye-opening moment for the Carolina Panthers, but also for the division as well, giving away a bit of the plan. With no highly rated WR, along with seeing many of them as secondary needs, tells us the thing that we have been predicting here at Blitz Sports Media – Carolina is moving towards a system that focuses heavily on the run-game to facilitate play action while focusing heavily on defense. The division, for example, has some immensely great talent on the back end, so the team places the Safety position, one that’s been devalued as of late, to be a primary concern.
With that, I believe a ton can actually be said about the state of the Carolina Panthers, according to the internal evaluations by General Manager (GM) Dan Morgan, Head Coach (HC) Dave Canales, Offensive Coordinator (OC) Brad Idzik, and of course, Defensive Coordinator (DC) Ejiro Evero – assuming this list is close to accurate of course.
Things to take away
1: EDGE continues to be the focus of the front office, with 9 having a Star grade, and 5 having a Starter grade
2: Safety is a major concern, saying that the newly signed S Tre’Von Moehrig is going to be a downhill safety, assisting in the run. Carolina paid Moehrig a 3 year, $51,000,000 deal in March of 2025.
3: Carolina believes they have their X WR as none of their X WR are rated above rotational as a need label.
4: EDGE Jack Sawyer from Ohio State is rated not only as a Starter, but a secondary need… at a grade of 66/100, ahead of players like X WR Tre Harris, DT Joshua Farmer, and BOX SS Lathan Ransom.
5: Not a single RB is rated above an ancillary need, and a depth need label, even RB Ashton Jeanty!
6: Carolina does in-fact value C Jared Wilson as a Center, #40/100 with secondary need and labeled as a Starter, but the one who jumps him at Center is OG Grey Zabel from North Dakota State. He has 14 snaps in 2022 at Center and hasn’t played there since with 100% of his snaps at NDSU being at LT in 2024.
Bonus: QB Cam Ward, the presumptive #1 pick in the NFL Draft, is only 2 spots ahead of QB Riley Leonard at 81, and 7 ahead of QB Will Howard at 86. Cam Ward is truly a sheep in wolf’s clothing according to many, including myself.
Carolina continues to be poised to make the splash of a lifetime, but as Cris Collinsworth said recently, “the quickest way to Dave Canales being fired is a poor offensive output.”
Where do you think the Carolina Panther should be drafting, trade back or sit and pick?