Carolina Panthers NFL Draft Mailbag 2.0: Clemson Prospect Fits & Defensive Curveballs

It's draft week, which means it's one of the last opportunities to get into the nitty-gritty for the Carolina Panthers. Who are they going to draft? Will they trade? Which prospects top their board? We don't know, but we can assess what we do know and learn some things.

We took a look at some major questions surrounding the Panthers in our first mailbag, but questions persist even now. The draft is mere days away now, so it's a good time to continue trying to figure this team out.

Which WR is the best fit in the first round?

Aggies wide receiver KC Concepcion (7) runs for a touchdown during the second half | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

In all likelihood, the Panthers are not going to have a chance to pick Jordyn Tyson or Makai Lemon, so excluding them, it looks like the options will be KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, and Omar Cooper Jr. at 19 (or if they trade back). Among them, Concepcion is the best fit.

His YAC ability and speed would add a new wrinkle to the offense, and he's a local star (originally played at NC State). He's also under 6'0", which helps prevent the Panthers from being way too one-dimensional in the WR room. Cooper Jr. is also a solid fit, but he doesn't have the return skills that Concepcion brings to the table for Carolina's special teams.

Could the Panthers go defense in the first round?

It is certainly possible. In fact, anything is possible for the Panthers, something they've tried to reiterate at every possible point. They're not pigeonholed, and they want to draft the best player available. It's hard to envision that being a defender, though, no matter what they say.

The linebacker class is deep, but not in the first round. CJ Allen will be the only one available, and he's not a good pick at 19. The edge class is deep, but again, not in the first round. Would they pick a cornerback? Probably not, and the same with IDL since it's not a need.

Safety is a big need, but we suspect the need to give Bryce Young another weapon outweighs the need to upgrade from Nick Scott, who the Panthers actually like. That's the only scenario, though, where Carolina goes defense first.

Will the Panthers pick a Clemson product after all these years?

Clemson defensive lineman Peter Woods (11) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The most notable football school, with all due respect to the other colleges, in the area of the Panthers is Clemson. Yet, they've never drafted out of their backyard. No Clemson player has ever been picked by the Panthers.

This year, they very well could change that. Several Clemson products have landed in Charlotte thanks to mock drafts, including Peter Woods and Blake Miller, and one of them is likely to be the one that ends the drought. Avieon Terrell, T.J. Parker, Antonio Williams, and even Cade Clubnik make some sense, too.

How many holes are truly left to be addressed?

Because the Panthers did such good work in free agency, they do have the flexibility to go in a lot of different directions during the draft. However, that's not to say they have no needs and that they can ignore players at key positions to get better value every time.

They still have glaring holes at safety, WR3, tight end, offensive line backups, and LB2. We suspect those will be addressed early and often during the NFL draft, and with seven selections to make, they could address all of them.

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