Panthers' Dan Morgan Predicted to Give Bryce Young Weapon He Truly Needs

Bryce Young obviously plays well with big-bodied pass-catchers, so the Panthers get one without going overboard here.

Vanderbilt Commodores tight end Eli Stowers (9) runs with the ball after a made catch | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Bryce Young still needs help. The Carolina Panthers have tried and largely failed to set him up with an elite surrounding of offensive talent. Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker are good, but the rest of the offense is decent at best.

Xavier Legette hasn't panned out, and everyone behind him on the depth chart brings little to the table. The Panthers haven't had a decent tight end since Greg Olsen left. Even the running back room is without a superstar.

With that in mind, the Panthers are probably going to draft an offensive weapon or two during the NFL draft. It's impossible to predict when that'll happen or who it'll be, but it's a safe prediction based on draft intel, the team's top-30 visits, and a general understanding of the needs remaining after free agency.

Dane Brugler's latest mock draft is as follows:

1. (19) Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon
2. (51) Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt
3. (83) Travis Burke, OT, Memphis
4. (119) Nick Barrett, DT, South Carolina
5. (158).Wesley Williams, edge, Duke
6. (159) Kevin Coleman Jr., WR, Missouri
7. (200) Fernando Carmona, G, Arkansas

What we're going to hone in on is the round-two selection of Eli Stowers, who we believe might be the perfect addition for Bryce Young.

Why Eli Stowers makes the most sense for Carolina Panthers

Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers (9) makes a catch as he warms up before playing against Tennessee | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GM Dan Morgan held a press conference about the Panthers' plans in the draft, and he seemed to make two things clear: He doesn't view tight end as a glaring hole, and he likes some of the non-first-round prospects at the positions.

This checks out. The Panthers haven't met with Kenyon Sadiq, but they have met with Dae'Quan Wright, Justin Joly, and Oscar Delp. Eli Stowers, who Dane Brugler believes will be the 51st pick in the NFL draft, fits that mold.

As great as Sadiq is, the combination of, in this mock, Dillon Thieneman and Stowers is better than Sadiq and another prospect at 51. It gives them the safety they need, but more importantly, it gives Bryce Young the weapon he needs.

Young obviously does well with big-bodied receivers. Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan are both 6'3" or taller. So is Xavier Legette, for that matter. Stowers is 6'4", so he is the perfect size for Young's talents.

Vanderbilt Commodores tight end Eli Stowers (9) makes a catch against the Auburn Tigers | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Panthers met with Denzel Boston, one of the biggest receivers in the draft. We wrote about how adding another big-bodied wideout to an already huge wide receiver room might not be the smartest move, but adding a big-bodied tight end is another story.

Plus, sports agent Joel Corry recently wrote about Stowers as a candidate to transition to wide receiver. What that basically means is that he's an excellent athlete, which makes him a sort of hybrid weapon. His selection would then give the Panthers and Young another big-bodied weapon without going overboard at wide receiver.

"Several NFL teams are reportedly evaluating Stowers as a wide receiver, according to NFL Media. Stowers was used primarily in the slot rather than as an inline tight end at Vanderbilt," Corry wrote per CBS Sports.

So, by adding Stowers, the Panthers would give Bryce Young another big weapon to play with without pigeonholing themselves into a truly massive but non-versatile wide receiver room. To top it all off, Brugler later mocked Kevin Coleman Jr., to the Panthers, and he's not even 6'0" tall.

That would be the ideal one-two punch in terms of offensive weapons to maximize Bryce Young without making life easier on opposing defenses.