Carolina Panthers First Round Mock Draft Round-up

We’re less than a month away from the 2026 NFL Draft. The Carolina Panthers are in somewhat unfamiliar territory picking in the second half of the first round, so it’s a different kind of crop of players that we’re seeing in the discussion for the pick. There’s a wider swath of players that could potentially land in Carolina. We’ll take a look at who some of the more well known mock drafters have landing with the Panthers next month.

Mel Kiper (ESPN): Emmanuel McNeill-Warren, Safety, Toledo

Kiper has the Panthers shoring up their secondary, though McNeill-Warren is the type of safety everyone is tired of the Panthers targeting. He’s more of a box safety than a deep center fielder. On the plus side, he forced a lot of turnovers and has a very imposing frame for a safety. He’d certainly add some more pop to the Panthers run defense and short field coverage.

Field Yates (ESPN): Kenyon Sadiq, Tight end, Oregon

Sadiq has been commonly associated with the Panthers throughout the offseason. The Panthers have invested a lot into their offense around quarterback Bryce Young. The only spot they haven’t really devoted significant resources into is the tight end spot. They could remedy that by adding Sadiq, one of if not the most physically impressive tight end prospect we’ve ever seen. He’s a chiseled 6’3” 241 pounds and ran a tight end record 4.39 40 yard dash at the combine. He’s good as both a blocker and a pass catcher, and his elite traits at the latter make him a very desirable prospect.

Daniel Jeremiah (NFL.com): KC Concepcion, Wide receiver, Texas A&M

Daniel Jeremiah has the Panthers going the mid-2000s Lions route and selecting a wide receiver in the first round for the third consecutive draft. Concepcion is a local kid having grown up in Charlotte and attending Julius L. Chamber High School, a public high school in the northeast corner of the city. He’s a different kind of receiver than the previous two the Panthers picked. He’s a quicker than fast slot receiver who gets open in the short areas of the field but isn’t exactly a huge vertical threat.

Chad Reuter (NFL.com): Kenyon Sadiq, Tight end, Oregon

Another mocker giving the Panthers Sadiq. Like I said, it’s a common marriage that people are shipping.

Eric Edholm (NFL.com): Kenyon Sadiq, Tight end, Oregon

Okay these are way less interesting if everybody mocks the same player to the Panthers. However, it is easy to get excited about a player of Sadiq’s caliber, so at least it’s not a lazy pick that doesn’t actually make sense.

Bucky Brooks (NFL.com): Monroe Freeling, Offensive Tackle, Georgia

Dan Morgan has made it clear the offensive line is going to be a priority when it comes to constructing his team. He built one of the better groups in the league, but it’s in flux now with some player departures and the torn patellar tendon on Ikem Ekwonu. Freeling is a huge tackle with great measurables that would double as both a potential contingency plan for Ekwonu’s recovery and a succession plan to Taylor Moton at right tackle.

Tankathon: Peter Woods, Defensive Lineman, Clemson

Woods is a high motor disruptor on the interior defensive line. The Panthers have been trying to build up their talent and overall depth along the front line after some rough seasons there. Woods would form a formidable duo with Derrick Brown along the front lines that should give a lot of problems to opposing offensive lines.