ESPN insider's last mock sends 'red-hot riser' to fix Panthers' defense

Walter Nolen to Carolina? Matt Miller thinks where there's smoke there's fire.

Sep 28, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels defensive linemen Walter Nolen (2) and linebacker Suntarine Perkins (4) reacts after a tackle during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers will be on the clock in a little over 12 hours. When they are, they can do any number of things. They're heavily linked to Jalon Walker, and Tetairoa McMillan is lurking as well. Mason Graham remains a possibility, as does Mykel Williams. What about Walter Nolen?

ESPN insider Matt Miller used all the intel and reporting he's hearing from sources and teams about who they're looking at in the NFL Draft to formulate what he believes is his best guess ahead of the NFL Draft. In it, the Panthers don't do any of the above, but they instead pick Nolen out of Ole Miss.

"Nolen has been a red-hot riser in the days leading up to the draft as the Panthers, 49ers and Cowboys were all connected to him by scouts," Miller said. "Smoke screen? Maybe, but chatter connecting Carolina to Nolen was rampant Wednesday."

Feb 26, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Mississippi defensive lineman Walter Nolen (DL23) during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Panthers would, in the scenario Miller laid out, pass on Mason Graham, Tetairoa McMillan, and Mykel Williams. They did not have the chance to land Jalon Walker because the New York Jets picked him seventh overall, just before the Panthers got on the clock.

This would absolutely be a curveball. The Panthers probably do have some interest in Nolen, and team reporter Darin Gantt named him as a possible candidate recently. However, taking him over Graham for the interior would be a surprise, and taking an interior over an edge defender would also be a little bit of a surprise.

But the Panthers can do any of this, which is why, despite there being clear fits and majority agreements on who they'll take, they're as unpredictable as most teams outside the Tennessee Titans tonight.

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