B-
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers kept it disciplined and banked a B-.
by SD ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
The Panthers put a flag in the ground for Nyjalik Kelly, 55 picks before anyone else would have, and the value took the hit. A sturdy weekend that grades out a B-.
The Slaughter value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere. The safety hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
They left with wide receiver solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off. Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 19 they get a pocket-collapsing interior rusher. More want than need.
Anthony Hill Jr. is a better player than the 51st pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Jake Slaughter in pick No. 83 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Ja'Kobi Lane at the Round 4 slot is the proof. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Hezekiah Masses at slot 158 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A real head-scratcher, Nyjalik Kelly in the 159th overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Dallen Bentley at pick 200 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.