Panthers' Draft Strategy: Trench Warriors & Back-Seven Playmakers

0:00It's April 24th. This is NFL News Today Football Coverage, powered by AI. The Carolina Panthers played it cool in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, snagging George's Monroe Freeling at the 19th, overall pick. This dude's being called the top true left tackle in the class, and that patience paid off big time after they let the board come to them. Dan Morgan, their president of football ops angiom, loves wheeling and dealing on day 2. His four second or third round picks over two drafts, three came from trading up, like Jonathan Brooks, Nick Scorton, and Prince Lee, Um and Melon. Now sitting at 51st overall to kick off round two, they're probably itching to move again. Teams always got needs, and Carolina's no different. They cut a Sean Robinson, and ain't seen much from new defensive line signings, so beefing up that front is key. Inside linebacker Deft's shaky two, despite grabbing Devin Lloyd on a sweet three year, $42 million deal, and cornerbacks thin, especially in the slot.

1:03Safety's another spot at the passing on a top guy Thursday. Word is, they're doing deep dives on prospects like Ohio State's Caden McDonald, a 326 pound beast with 65 tackles and three. Sacks last year, Texas Tech's Jacob Rodriguez could upgrade linebacker, Clemson's avian tarot, fits perfect inside, despite a pro day hiccup, and Toledo's Immanuel. Fake Neil Warren might be the versatile safety they pivot to now. Expect Morgan to strike fast Friday, if one of these falls, stacking that roster with trench warriors and back seven playmakers to build on this. Draft's strong start.