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Draft Grade — Panthers
Overall
B
ValueB-
NeedA-
TradesB-
FutureB-
No fireworks, just a tidy B for the Panthers. You can draft well and still miss the point. The Panthers did plenty of tidy work and somehow never got around to linebacker, which was the need that mattered most. More right than wrong, and a B to match.
They went 3 of 9 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for. Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
Good work on the whole, with linebacker the one box left unchecked.
Pick Analysis
Pick8
Rnd1
James Pearce Jr.
A straight-up fair deal on James Pearce Jr. at the 8th pick, value and slot in agreement. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Pick57
Rnd2
Jalen Royals
Jalen Royals in pick No. 57 is fair value, right on his grade. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Pick74
Rnd3
Darien Porter
They took Darien Porter at par in the 74th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.



