C+
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers did enough to get by: C+.
by Dcha369 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 2 picks
· 0 steals
· 1 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Panthers took Caleb Banks a full 23 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. It lands right in the middle: a C+, no more, no less.
The wide receiver spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. Safety was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job. The trenches got the money picks, top to bottom.
If Caleb Banks and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 19 they get a pocket-collapsing interior rusher, though the board says they badly overpaid.
They took A.J. Haulcy at par in slot 51, which is nothing to complain about. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.