B-
Carolina Panthers
A solid, sensible weekend for the Panthers: B-.
by jlwalker43 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 1 steals
· 4 reaches
The Panthers bet big and early on Vincent Anthony Jr., 69 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right. It nets out to a B-, which feels about right.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Lew. For all the activity, quarterback went untouched, which is hard to explain.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the quarterback spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 19 they get a No. 1 receiver. The biggest hole, addressed.
A wild overpay on Keyron Crawford in slot 51, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board had cheaper options than Jalon Kilgore at the 83rd overall pick, and it noticed. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
You do not let an offensive lineman like Connor Lew reach the 119th pick and blink. They did not. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Justin Jefferson in Round 5, Pick 18 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They reached a country mile for Vincent Anthony Jr. at the Round 5 slot, and the board is aghast. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
VJ Payne at Round 6, Pick 19 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the safety. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.