B
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers cashed the board's mistake on Lane: B.
by JBHANCOCK94 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 2 steals
· 0 reaches
Call it larceny. Ja'Kobi Lane sat on the board until pick 119, and the Panthers did not need to be asked twice.
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.
The back end got a real overhaul.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 19th overall pick they get an island corner. The biggest hole, addressed.
Jake Slaughter at the Round 2 slot is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Deontae Lawson in slot 83 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Circle this one: Ja'Kobi Lane at pick No. 119 is a fall that decides a draft. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A tidy little value on Skyler Gill-Howard in pick 158, a step better than break-even. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
The board had Kaytron Allen higher than the 159th pick, and the running back fell to them anyway. A need, and now a little less of one.
VJ Payne at No. 200 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the safety. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.