Momentum has built for the Carolina Panthers, but the margin for error is gone. They enter the 2026 NFL Draft at an interesting position. They are close enough to believe but flawed enough to fall short. The 2025 season proved that the offense can win games and that the foundation around Bryce Young is real. It also painfully exposed that the defense remains a step behind serious contenders. With a brief postseason appearance ending in heartbreak, Carolina now faces a draft that feels less like a rebuild and more like a reckoning. This is where ‘promising' must finally turn into ‘dangerous.'
Season recap
The Panthers finished the 2025 regular season with an 8-9 record. They narrowly missed a winning season in a chaotic NFC South where all four teams finished within one game of each other. Carolina’s year was driven by a productive offense led by Young. He took a noticeable step forward. Running back Rico Dowdle and rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan also showed out.
Week to week, the Panthers showed they could trade punches with playoff-caliber teams. Key wins kept them alive deep into December. Tiebreaker chaos ultimately pushed Carolina into the final NFC Wild Card spot. That berth ended in a crushing 34-31 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, though. Carolina had enough offense to compete but not enough defense to close.
Too often, the Panthers needed 27 or 30 points just to have a chance. Defensive breakdowns, late-game lapses, and a lack of pass rush repeatedly turned winnable games into coin flips. The record says 8-9. The tape, though, says the margin is thinner than that.
Draft needs
The Panthers’ draft needs are clear, and they skew heavily toward the defensive side of the ball.
Carolina finished near the bottom of the league in sacks in 2025. That simply isn’t sustainable in today’s NFL, particularly in Ejiro Evero’s pressure-based scheme. They rely on edge players winning one-on-one matchups. Derrick Brown continues to anchor the interior. However, without a credible edge threat, offenses were free to slide protection and attack the second level.
As such, edge rusher is the top priority, followed closely by defensive line depth and linebacker help. Free agency attrition and inconsistent play left the middle of the defense exposed far too often.
Wide receiver depth also remains on the radar. Yes, Young has promising young options. That said, Carolina lacks a consistent second option who can punish defenses when coverage tilts. With the No. 19 overall pick, the Panthers are positioned to add impact. However, they must be precise.
Here we'll try to look at and discuss the Panthers' 3-round mock draft based on the PFF 2026 NFL mock draft simulator.
Round 1, pick 19: EDGE Cashius Howell, Texas A&M
Cashius Howell isn’t the prototype edge rusher scouts drool over. Still, he fits what Carolina actually needs.
He’s slightly undersized when measured against traditional defensive ends. And yet, his profile aligns well with outside linebackers in a 3-4 front. That's exactly where Evero can deploy him. Howell plays with urgency and competitiveness. He showed a growing pass-rush arsenal that expanded throughout this past NCAA Football season. His inside spin counter stands out, especially when tackles overset to protect against speed.
There are limitations, of course. Howell’s flexibility is average, and he doesn’t consistently threaten the outside shoulder with pure bend. A false step out of his stance occasionally robs him of early momentum. Still, those are coachable issues.
What matters is that Howell understands leverage. He plays hard against the run and wins with technique rather than gimmicks. Early on, he projects as a rotational edge defender. That said, he can also immediately raise the floor of Carolina’s pass rush while developing into more. For a defense starving for pressure, that matters.
The missing second-round pick
Notably, Carolina does not make a second-round selection in this PFF mock. That absence underscores how important it is for the Panthers to maximize value with their remaining picks.
Without a Day 2 opportunity to add a linebacker or secondary help, Carolina must rely on development, scheme, and possibly veteran additions to patch remaining holes. It places extra weight on the first-round choice to hit and on the third-round pick to provide real rotational value.
Round 3, pick 83: DL Darrell Jackson Jr, Florida State
Darrell Jackson Jr is a bet on mass, power, and long-term disruption.
At roughly 6-foot-5 and 340 pounds, Jackson brings legitimate size and strength to the interior. This isn’t empty weight, too. When his hand placement is right, he collapses pockets and bulldozes blockers backward. He can line up as a nose or slide into a 3-technique role in four-man fronts. That gives Carolina flexibility across sub-packages.
The concerns are real. His pass-rush win rate remains modest, and his processing can lag. He’s not yet a finished product. His best moments in 2024, though, showed meaningful improvement as a rusher, hinting at upside rather than stagnation.
For a Panthers defense that leans too heavily on Derrick Brown, Jackson offers a second interior body offenses must account for. Even as a rotational player, his presence can free edge rushers and linebackers to attack more aggressively.
Final thoughts
Carolina isn’t rebuilding from the ground up. That’s what makes this draft dangerous and important.
The offense has direction, and the quarterback has momentum. The division is winnable. That said, unless the defense can consistently affect quarterbacks and control the middle of the field, the Panthers will remain stuck in one-score purgatory.
This mock doesn’t deliver stars. It delivers answers to hard questions. If these picks solidify the pass rush and toughen the interior, Carolina’s narrow losses start turning into January wins. The window is open and margin thin. This draft decides which way the season tips.
