Panthers GM Already Hints at Big Trade With No. 8 Pick

The Carolina Panthers are in a unique position heading into the 2025 NFL Draft in April. After a solid second half of the regular season, Carolina has its QB of the future in Bryce Young, which means they can continue to add around him.

With the No. 8 overall pick, the Panthers could take the defensive player available, which would not be the worst idea, given the lack of talent on the front seven. Or the Panthers could get their young QB another wide receiver to pair with Xavier Legette and Adam Thielen.

However, Panthers general manager Dan Morgan is not opposed to trading the eighth overall pick to get more draft capital.

"I think everything’s on the table, like I always say," Morgan said (h/t Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer). "Obviously, depending on who’s on the board at number eight, that’s always going to be option — to trade back."

Morgan and the rest of Carolina’s scouting department are down at the Shrine Bowl practices in Frisco, TX. 

Last year, the Panthers didn’t have a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft but moved up from the second round in a draft night trade with the Buffalo Bills to take Legette. That decision paid off for Carolina as Legette showed some flashes of being a big-play wide receiver in the passing game.

Looking ahead to this year’s draft, the latest mock drafts have the Panthers taking Arizona wide receiver Tetaiora McMillan or Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker with the eighth overall pick.

Carolina could use either of those guys, but if the Panthers don’t like how the board is shaping up, moving down for extra capital isn’t bad either. The 2025 NFL draft is still months away, so we’ll see what the Panthers do in the first round.

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