D-
Carolina Panthers
Larceny in the Round 3 slot lands the Panthers a D-, Slaughter and all.
by Mo ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 7 steals
· 0 reaches
You can lose a draft before you make a pick. The Panthers did it at the trade table, overpaying to chase players the board did not price nearly as high. The process wobbled, and the D- is where it lands.
They punted on wide receiver, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. They banked enough surplus on Slaughter to cover a lot of smaller sins. Cornerback was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
Value over need was the throughline, for better and worse.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 19 they get a sideline-to-sideline linebacker. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They read the board right and Emmanuel Pregnon was the payoff at Round 2, Pick 19. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A tidy bit of business in pick 57, where Lee Hunter graded well above the range. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Jake Slaughter in the 83rd pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Taking Treydan Stukes in No. 119 is close to grand larceny; a cornerback that good had no business lasting this long. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A quiet steal in the 158th overall pick: Dametrious Crownover for less than the market said. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Dametrious Crownover slid further than he should have, and the 159th pick is lovely value for the offensive lineman. A need, and now a little less of one.
Taylen Green at Round 6, Pick 19 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.