D+
Carolina Panthers
Not the weekend the Panthers were hoping for: D+.
by Jaybeast17 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 3 steals
· 4 reaches
You can hear the double-takes from here. The Panthers took Raul Aguirre Jr. at pick 51, roughly 404 spots before his name belonged. A weekend that fought the value and lost, hence the D+.
The Abney II pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. Leaving safety unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. Wide receiver is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and safety is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 19th overall pick they get a quarterback's worst nightmare, though the board says they badly overpaid. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A wild overpay on Raul Aguirre Jr. in No. 51, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Dijon Johnson. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A real head-scratcher, Hykeem Williams in pick 119 is miles ahead of his ranking. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Somehow Keith Abney II was still sitting there in slot 158, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board fumbled Malachi Lawrence all the way to the 159th pick, and they scooped it up. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They barely believed it either: Parker Brailsford still on the board at the Round 6 slot. It fills a real need, too.