Three positions Carolina Panthers could target first in the 2024 NFL Draft

The Carolina Panthers have some options with their first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

What position groups could the Carolina Panthers potentially target with the No. 33 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft?

I guess the answer could be pretty obvious as to which positions the Carolina Panthers should be targeting early in the 2024 NFL Draft, depending on who you ask. The franchise is a total wreck and will be giving up their first-round pick to the Chicago Bears – likely to be the No. 1 overall selection unless they rack up some late victories.

It’s been a brutal campaign for the team. They became the second team this year to fire their head coach in-season. For the second time in as many seasons, the Panthers are set to hit the reset button.

I’m not so sure Carolina is the most attractive destination, either. I guess money talks, so perhaps team owner David Tepper could lure a top candidate with his checkbook. But there’s not a lot to like about the organization.

Do the Panthers even have a true core group of players? Many of their best players are due for fresh contracts, and there’s no guarantee that each of them will be paid.

Offensively, there isn’t a lot to encourage. Whoever ends up taking this head coaching job is likely going to have to accept that this is going to be a long rebuilding process.

Sometimes, that’s exactly what a franchise needs. To begin this rebuilding process, the Panthers should use their second-round pick in 2024 wisely.

What position groups are going to be in play at the top of the second round in 2024?

Carolina Panthers could add an explosive WR

This is just excellent news.

The Carolina Panthers might be able to stay put with their second-round pick in 2024. In this scenario, they could select the next great wide receiver in the NFL.

I fired up a mock draft on Pro Football Network’s website. When the No. 33 overall pick rolled around, Adonai Mitchell, Xavier Legette, Troy Franklin, and Xavier Worthy were available. However, Matt Miller of ESPN’s recent mock draft was less favorable to the Panthers with eight wideouts going in the first round.

PFN has Mitchell ranked as the highest prospect out of this bunch. He is 6-foot-4 and has all the makings of a true WR1 at the next level. Unfortunately, the Panthers aren’t going to be close to being able to take top wide receivers like Marvin Harrison Jr. or Keon Coleman. But fear not, this class is loaded with genuine difference-makers to help Bryce Young.

I think the value here is awesome from Carolina’s perspective. The group of players I mentioned above could be first-round picks in a weaker draft, so the Panthers really can’t go wrong with that next tier of pass-catchers below Harrison and Coleman.

In the modern-day NFL, wide receiver is becoming a much more valuable position than it was before. That’s exactly what the Panthers need to help their rookie quarterback en route to hopefully better fortunes.

Carolina Panthers could strengthen the OL

Rookie quarterback Bryce Young has played in 12 games for the Carolina Panthers in 2023. He has been sacked 48 times.

That’s an average of four times per game, which is simply unsustainable in the NFL. When you consider that Young is the size of a slot cornerback, the Panthers must keep him out of harm’s way moving forward.

They could do that by replacing Ikem Ekwonu at left tackle and perhaps kicking him to the interior to save some value there. If that is their plan going into the 2024 NFL Draft, acquiring a young left tackle should be at the top of their to-do list.

Looking at Pro Football Focus’ big board for tackles, guys like Amarius Mims, Graham Barton, Troy Fautanu, Jordan Morgan, and Patrick Paul are all realistic targets at the top of the second round. But some might end up going to a contending team at the end of the first depending on how their respective evaluation processes unfold.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, solving the left tackle problem isn’t going to come in free agency. Top-shelf blindside protectors don’t hit the open market. Terron Armstead did two offseasons ago, but he’s been injury-prone his entire career, and that hasn’t changed with the Miami Dolphins.

A solution I recently proposed was signing someone like Trent Brown for a year and drafting Morgan from Arizona. That has potential benefits in the short and long term depending on how a new coaching staff sees Ekwonu’s future.

I think establishing a clear plan at at left tackle and not banking on a player without past success is a bad idea. Someone like Brown has established himself as a fine tackle in the NFL. Pairing him with a rookie draft pick gives the Panthers a plan for this crucial position.

Carolina Panthers could grab another TE

The Carolina Panthers’ best pick at No. 33 overall might not necessarily be on the offensive side of the ball. But you never know.

A couple of positions that I think are simply off the table at the top of the second round for Carolina would be at running back, inside linebacker, and safety. These are three spots that don’t have a ton of value in the NFL.

Sure, you need competency at each position. But they’re not positions that need as much careful attention as others like cornerback or edge rusher. I would be shocked if the Panthers took any of the aforementioned positions with their high-end second-round selection.

Carolina could use some help off the edge and at tight end, specifically. Pro Football Focus has Georgia stud Brock Bowers as their TE1. That’s not really up for discussion.

Bowers is going to go inside the top 10, but their second-rated is Ja’Tavion Sanders out of Texas. He’s a junior who has caught 93 receptions for 1,220 receiving yards and seven touchdowns over the last two seasons.

I think ideally, the Panthers are looking to grab a wide receiver or offensive tackle with their first pick. These are the two most dire positions for the team. Hitting a home run with one of these lackluster groups would give the team a foundational block for years to come.