B
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers did the meat-and-potatoes work well: B.
by KDE ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 3 steals
· 2 reaches
The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Panthers reached some 39 spots for Cole Payton, and value like that does not grow back. Call it a sensible B, earned the boring way.
That Lance pick is the receipt they will wave around later. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
They went 6 of 9 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for. They trusted the board more than the depth chart.
Nothing here to lose sleep over, and plenty to feel decent about.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 19th overall pick they get a coverage-and-run second-level piece. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A straight-up fair deal on Caleb Tiernan at pick No. 51, value and slot in agreement. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They barely believed it either: Jake Slaughter still on the board at Round 3, Pick 19. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Bryce Lance in the Round 4 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They let Charles Demmings come to them and pounced at pick 158. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Cole Payton this early at No. 159. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A premium they did not need to pay, Riley Nowakowski a notch or two before his time. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.