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Pat McAfee explains why Panthers fans should love what they saw in behind-the-scenes draft video

The ESPN analyst noticed one very important thing in the Panthers' draft video.
Schuyler Callihan|
Feb 7, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Pat McAfee on the Pat McAfee Show set on Radio Row at the Super Bowl LIX media center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 7, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Pat McAfee on the Pat McAfee Show set on Radio Row at the Super Bowl LIX media center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Carolina Panthers

The latest episode of Panthers Blueprint was released by the Carolina Panthers digital media team, and once again, they provided a tremendous look at how the front office operated during the draft.

One of the biggest highlights of the episode is where GM Dan Morgan and Executive VP of Football Ops Brandt Tilis are weighing a possible trade with the Los Angeles Rams, who wanted to come all the way up from No. 26 to No. 8.

At the time, most believed it was to get the man the Panthers ended up picking, Tetairoa McMillan, but it could have also been for one of the top tight end prospects, Colston Loveland or Tyler Warren. The Panthers discussed a deal with the Rams before the draft and made it pretty clear that they wanted a king's ransom if they were going to slide that far down in the first round, and rightfully so.

ESPN's Pat McAfee loved getting the peek behind the curtains and even pointed out why Carolina fans should be excited.

“The Carolina Panthers released some draft footage that was spectacular. What I saw out of that video is a lot of things. Brandt Tilis, the Executive VP of Football Ops, has a lot of say and is very chatty. (Dan) Morgan, the general manager there is consulting with him throughout the entirety of it. I think what they were waiting on was a full haul. If they’re going to offer us something we can’t refuse, we’ll do this. But instead, let’s get T-Mac. What I noticed though, at one point, they looked at (David) Tepper to get an answer, Tepper didn’t say sh*t. All anybody has said about Tepper is that he’s hands-on, hands-on, hands-on. Too handsy, too involved. He’s not letting the football people do their thing. We just watched in the biggest moment for their franchise, a top ten pick, he just sat there and let everybody do their jobs. I think if you’re a Panthers fan, you love everything you saw there.”

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Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Schuyler Callihan is the publisher of West Virginia On SI and has been a trusted source covering the Mountaineers since 2016. He is the host of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru Game Day Show, and In the Gun Podcast. The Wheeling, WV native moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2020 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers.

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