Carolina Panthers Take Bold Swing Trading Up for Texas Tech DL Lee Hunter

The Carolina Panthers were slotted to pick 51st, but they moved up. This is not at all surprising, as Dan Morgan has been aggressive with these mid-round trade-ups during his tenure as GM. Carolina selected Texas Tech defensive lineman Lee Hunter with the pick. They did meet with Hunter before the draft.

This is a bit of a bold swing. The Panthers may have been able to stand pat and take Hunter, who is ESPN's 67th-ranked prospect. They also, for the second straight pick, passed on a plethora of pass-catchers, some of whom would've made excellent additions.

Panthers trade up for Texas Tech nose tackle Lee Hunter, who had seven sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss over the past three seasons at UCF and Texas Tech.

He's the A'Shawn Robinson replacement.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) April 25, 2026

However, the interior of the defensive line needed some more help after the A'Shawn Robinson release. If nothing else, they needed another body, but Hunter projects as a potential starter, so there's value in that.

The capital they traded was rather inconsequential, and honestly, it's another good draft compensation deal by Morgan. He loves trading without losing total bullets, so he traded two picks for two picks.

And with the extra pick from the Vikings in the fifth-round, he got another pick higher than the last one Carolina owns (200), so it's not bad at all. Hunter probably would've been there at 51, though, and the Panthers did pass on some interesting and potentially vital additions to other areas of the field.

Who did the Panthers pass on for Lee Hunter?

Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. (0) looks on during the game between — Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. (0) looks on during the game | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Panthers passed on a number of interesting prospects, including those who were considered first-round picks. They could've picked:

S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
CB Jermod McCoy
TE Eli Stowers
CB D'Angelo Ponds
LB Jake Golday
LB Anthony Hill Jr.
CB Brandon Cisse
WR Chris Brazzell
WR Zachariah Branch
LB CJ Allen

This is not a comprehensive list, but at times, McNeil-Warren, McCoy, Ponds, Cisse, and Allen were mocked in the first round. Lee Hunter, ironically, was mocked in the first round once, and he went to the Panthers at 19.

It's a good thing they picked him in the second round and didn't follow that mock draft. What is most interesting, though, is that GM Dan Morgan, a former linebacker, didn't draft one of the remaining linebackers.

He met with Anthony Hill Jr. and Jacob Rodriguez, who went off the board several picks earlier. With that in mind, and with Josiah Trotter off the board, it's surprising Morgan didn't use his trade-up to pick Hill or another linebacker. It remains a need, and it's Morgan's former position, so he'd probably love to snag a good one here soon.

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