B-
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers did the meat-and-potatoes work well: B-.
by Mo ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
Nobody had Taylen Green this high, and it is not close. The Panthers reached 65 spots to get him at Round 4, Pick 19. The bottom line is a respectable B-.
On value alone, Cooper Jr. makes the weekend a net positive. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through cornerback.
Wide receiver is handled and the depth chart looks a good deal healthier for it. Value over need was the throughline, for better and worse.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 19 they get a green-dot type in the middle, and a steal at that. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They talked themselves into Brian Parker II at slot 59, and the board did not agree. The roster fit checks out.
Omar Cooper Jr. at the Round 3 slot is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They reached into another round for Taylen Green, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Vincent Anthony Jr. at No. 158 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Zxavian Harris at pick 159 is the proof. A minor itch, scratched.
Pat Coogan at pick 200 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.