The Athletic has live coverage of Saints vs. Panthers on Monday Night Football.

The Carolina Panthers have the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft when Round 1 begins on April 27 in Kansas City. The Panthers own six total picks in the seven-round draft.

Panthers’ draft picks

ROUNDPICKOVERALLNOTES

1

1

1

From Bears

2

8

39

3

30

93

From 49ers

4

12

114

4

30

132

From 49ers

5

10

145

Full draft order

Every pick in the seven-round NFL Draft.

Advertisement

NFL Draft details

• Round 1: April 27, 8 p.m. ET
• Rounds 2-3: April 28, 7 p.m. ET
• Rounds 4-7: April 29, Noon ET

All rounds will be televised on ESPN/ABC and NFL Network and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.

About the Panthers

• Head coach: Frank Reich (first season)
• General manager: Scott Fitterer
• Last year’s record: 7-10

The Panthers have created arguably the NFL’s biggest buzz this offseason, starting with the hiring of Frank Reich and his highly acclaimed coaching staff and continuing with their blockbuster trade with Chicago that gave Carolina the top pick in next month’s draft. General manager Scott Fitterer then was productive during free agency, bringing in a handful of proven offensive players (Andy Dalton, Miles Sanders, Adam Thielen, DJ Chark, Hayden Hurst) to try to set up the Panthers’ rookie quarterback up for success.

Owners David and Nicole Tepper led a 12-person, traveling party as the Panthers hit the pro days last week for C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young and Will Levis. (They’ll go to Anthony Richardson’s on March 30.) The Panthers have gone five years (coinciding with the Teppers’ purchase of the team) without making the playoffs, but they’re suddenly relevant in a big way.

Panthers’ key position needs 

Edge rusher: The Panthers signed free agents Shy Tuttle and DeShawn Williams to plug in at nose tackle in Ejiro Evero’s 3-4 defense, and brought back Henry Anderson to play defensive end. But they could use another outside linebacker to line up opposite Pro Bowler Brian Burns. Frankie Luvu and Amare’ Barno are internal options, although Luvu might end up playing at one of the inside spots depending on the situation.

Inside linebacker: This would have been a much bigger need had defensive captain Shaq Thompson not agreed to take a pay cut to stay with the team that drafted him in the first round in 2015. The Panthers released Damien Wilson. But they still have Luvu and Brandon Smith, a fourth-round pick last year from Penn State with elite size, speed and athleticism.

Advertisement

Nickel cornerback: The Panthers decided not to tender restricted free agent Myles Hartsfield and the team’s primary nickel ended up joining Steve Wilks in San Francisco. Scott Fitterer said the Panthers could slide Jaycee Horn to nickel, with C.J. Henderson replacing Horn on the outside. Jeremy Chinn likely will be the team’s “big nickel.” That said, adding a versatile corner would be helpful.

Interior offensive line: After re-signing center Bradley Bozeman, the Panthers have their entire starting offensive line under contract. But both guards Austin Corbett (torn ACL) and Brady Christensen (broken ankle) are recovering from serious injuries sustained in Week 18. The Panthers like what they have in Cade Mays, but could add a lineman with position flex in a later round.

Panthers draft analysis

Final big board: 40 players over 3 days the Panthers could target

How they got here: Panthers’ path to the No. 1 pick and choosing that player

The S2 Cognition test: How much will it matter for the Panthers?

Behind the scenes: How the Panthers-Bears made the trade for the No. 1 pick

Is there shift in thinking? Could Bryce Young be gaining momentum?

What about the 39th pick? Panthers’ possibilities in Round 2

Pros and cons of Bryce Young at No. 1: Frank Reich, others on the Tide QB

Panthers big board, 2.0: QB pecking order, other options

What we learned at C.J. Stroud’s pro day: Is the Ohio State QB the choice for Panthers at No. 1?

Is Bryce Young’s size a big concern? He’s only 5-10. Will that matter when Carolina makes the top pick?

Reich says he doesn’t have a type: Seven things we learned from Frank Reich.

The Athletic’s most recent mock drafts

April 26: Final beat writer mock draft: Panthers still take QB

April 24: Joe Person’s final 7-round mock draft

April 17: The Athletic’s Dane Brugler mocks all seven rounds

Advertisement

April 12: The Athletic’s Diante Lee goes QB at No. 1 for Panthers

April 7: The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner goes three rounds deep

March 28: The Athletic draft experts Diante Lee and Nate Tice mock Round 1

March 22: Beat writer mock draft: QBs go quickly, surprise trade, Aaron Rodgers stalemate
Joe Person has Carolina pointing to Stroud with the first pick in the draft.

March 13: After Panthers trade for No. 1, quarterbacks go 1-2-3-4
Ben Standig has to choose between Stroud and Young for the Panthers at No. 1

Panthers’ last five top picks

2022: OT Ikem Ekwonu, pick No. 6 — The Panthers have lacked stability at left tackle since Jordan Gross retired in 2014. Ekwonu looks like Carolina’s answer for the long-term. He started all 17 games and improved as the season progressed. He allowed three sacks in his first two games and then allowed just three more total in the final 15 games of the season.

2021: CB Jaycee Horn, pick No. 8 — A foot injury ended his rookie season after just three games. He played in 13 in 2022 (all starts) and intercepted three passes. He looks like the physical cornerback who can lead the secondary for years to come. Next step: Staying healthy for a full season.

2020: DT Derrick Brown, pick No. 7 — His first two seasons were OK — solid contributions without many game-impacting plays. That changed in 2022 as the former Auburn defensive lineman was in the backfield more, batted down seven passes, intercepted one, had a career-best 67 tackles and collected 12 QB hits.

2019: DE Brian Burns, pick No. 16 — Burns was named to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season and tallied a career-best 12 1/2 sacks in 2022 to go along with 17 tackles for loss. In four seasons, he has 38 sacks and 77 QB hits. The Panthers would like having him around for a long time.

Advertisement

2018: WR DJ Moore, pick No. 24 — After a solid rookie season (788 yards, 2 TDs), Moore had back-to-back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons before seeing his numbers drop in 2022 as the Panthers struggled at quarterback. He still managed 888 receiving yards and a career-best seven touchdown receptions. He’ll get the opportunity to see what he can do in Chicago after being included in the blockbuster trade that sent the 2023 No. 1 pick in the draft to the Panthers.

(Photo of Bryce Young: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k2xraXFja3xzfJFsZmlsX2eDcK%2FAq6aloZ6WerGtza2fnqqjYrunuIydqZqepGK9qq%2FKrGSnnZWZwG680Z6bopuknryvv4ygrKKclWQ%3D