Carolina Panthers’ draft strategy and offseason moves (2025)

CAROLINA PANTHERS

Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan is still in the market for free agent upgrades to the roster ahead of the NFL Draft in April.

The Carolina Panthers’ quest to build a contender is a work in progress.

The Panthers have missed the playoffs seven straight seasons and qualified for the postseason just once since losing Super Bowl 50. Further testing the fan base's patience, the NFL Players Association recently ranked the franchise No. 25, a downgrade of eight spots from the previous vote.

Quarterback Bryce Young injected a glimmer of hope with a late-season revival in 2024. With a running back duo featuring Chuba Hubbard and free-agent signee Rico Dowdle and veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen tutoring undrafted standout Jalen Coker in his second campaign, the offense is expected to thrive behind a stout front featuring high-priced guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis.

The defense?

That injury-plagued unit yielded the most points (534) of any team in league history in 2024. Still, with defensive lineman Derrick Brown returning from a knee injury and cornerback Jaycee Horn secure with a new four-year, $100 million contract extension, general manager Dan Morgan said he anticipates the defense to rebound, aided by the recent free agent moves.

With the draft a month away, Morgan and vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis staged video conferences Wednesday to discuss the state of the roster.
Among the topics they discussed were salary-cap flexibility, remaining free-agent targets and draft strategy.

Eyeing future financial flexibility

Can the front office prudently finance the team's rise from its prolonged rebuild? The Panthers went 5-12 last season after bottoming out at 2-15 in 2023.

Brandt anticipates possessing some financial flexibility in the near future but must remain fiscally responsible for the remainder of the offseason. After adding defensive reinforcements in linemen Tershawn Wharton, Bobby Brown III and Patrick Jones II, safety Tre'Von Moehrig and linebacker Christian Rozeboom, Morgan and Tilis handled most of the pre-draft heavy lifting earlier this month.

After spending approximately $51 million during the opening free-agent foray, the Panthers were left with approximately $13.4 million in salary cap space and $10.6 million in dead cap money, according to Spotrac.com. Next offseason, they have more than $69 million in cap space with zero dead cap money. In 2027, they have $234.5 million cap space available.

"Right now, we have a little bit of room to spend, not a lot," Tilis said. "I think we'll be very intentional with how we spend our money going forward.

"As far as next year and the year after goes, we have a lot of flexibility. We're pretty excited about our ability to keep our core players and to add others to continue to build this thing."

Free-agent help at safety

Among the positions Morgan and Tilis spoke of creating more depth, outside linebacker, safety and wide receiver continue to receive the most attention. Carolina likely will dedicate a high draft pick to selecting an edge defender and have often been linked to Tennessee's James Pearce Jr., Texas A&M's Shemar Stewart and Georgia's Mykel Williams at No. 8 overall. That is if Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan, the top-ranked receiver, is off the board.

The Panthers appear willing to bolster the safety room beyond Moehrig through free agency. They re-signed Nick Scott, 29, and hosted Julian Blackmon and Marcus Williams on Monday. Both left without a deal, but negotiations could be re-visited after the draft, Tilis said.

"At this point in free agency, players are signing for opportunities," Tilis said. "So, let's all make sure that we all agree on what this opportunity looks like."

Draft 'big, long, strong, physical guys'

With nine picks in the draft, Morgan utilized the "best player available" refrain.

While edge and receiver remain a priority, if Michigan's Mason Graham remains available when Morgan is on the clock, the No. 2-ranked defensive lineman could prove challenging to bypass.

"I think, ideally, you want those big, long, strong, physical guys," Morgan said. "It doesn't always turn out that way. Maybe they don't have the height, but hey, they're strong, they're physical. They have other redeeming qualities that can outweigh a lack of something.

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