Reflecting On The Panthers Top 30 Visits

Wednesday was the deadline for teams to host local players or players on top 30 visits in preparation for the 2026 NFL Draft. For those that don’t know, teams are allowed to invite up to 30 prospects to their facilities for private workouts, interviews, and medical evaluations. They’re also allowed to do the same with players within a 50 mile radius without those players counting against the visits.

Based on this tracker from Reddit user Dayne_B12, the Panthers reportedly visited with 27 players in their home facility. The visits span most positions and all rounds of the draft.

There are five potential first round picks on the list. Probably the most interesting fact about those visits are three of them are wide receivers—KC Concepcion, Omar Cooper Jr., and Denzel Boston. Concepcion is from Charlotte, so the Panthers almost had to host him for a visit. The other two are two very different kinds of wide receivers. Cooper is a potential fit in the slot while Boston is an outside receiver. It’d be an interesting allocation of resources to use three straight first round picks on wide receivers, especially when an undrafted free agent has already usurped one of those first round picks.

The visits from projected Day 2 players are all over the map. Again, multiple wide receivers appear. Otherwise, it’s basically one player from a variety of positions. There isn’t much to glean about what the Panthers plan is here other than wide receiver is clearly not a position they’re overly content with.

On Day 3, we see a handful of interior defensive linemen and a couple of tight ends. From my memory, that aligns with what the Panthers have done in the recent past. They’ve prioritized visits with late round defensive linemen and used a sixth round pick on Jaden Crumedy in 2024 and a fifth round pick on Cam Jackson in 2025. It looks like there’s a possibility they’ll go that route again in 2026 if there’s a guy they like.

To me, the visits with the projected undrafted free agents are the most interesting tidbit from the list of visits outside the volume of early round wide receivers. There are three quarterbacks that have come in. One is Behren Morton, who is a more traditional pocket passer that lacks the elite traits needed to warrant a more lofty draft projection. The other two are intriguing though. Diego Pavia and Haynes King have been in for visits. Both are similar players. There are significant questions about their ability to succeed as pure passers of the football, but both are known for their running ability and grittiness as true football players. It makes you wonder if the Panthers are exploring the idea of a Taysom Hill type role if they can find a player that can succeed in it.

Of course, the Panthers aren’t obligated to pick anyone they hosted for a visit. They’ve had plenty of other opportunities to meet with guys between the combine, pro days, etc. A lot of times the visits are to check off boxes for guys that are missing information, be it about players’ personalities or their medical state rather than some indicator of elevated interest. Still, we can get an idea of what positions the Panthers are doing due diligence on, which could foreshadow what they do in next week’s draft.