What the NFL Draft Told Us About Dave Canales' Real Plan for the Panthers

Dave Canales and Dan Morgan had a plan for the Carolina Panthers going into the draft, and a lot of it involved upgrading the roster without targeting clear holes. They seemed to want the best players at whatever position they happened to play, whether or not there was an incumbent (within reason).

But what does that mean for the team going forward? Canales is evolving in his role as head coach, giving up playcalling to be more involved in every phase of the team. His first real action as coach in that capacity was this draft. What did it tell us?

What Dave Canales' plan for the Panthers seems to be

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Dave Canales appears to be gearing up to be a CEO-type coach, like Nick Sirianni or Mike Vrabel. Those guys have clear backgrounds, but they're not an offensive guru like Sean McVay or a defensive mastermind like Mike Macdonald.

Canales is clearly an offensive guy, so while he wants to oversee it all, he'll always be connected to and a little more involved with the function of the offense. And after the draft, we seem to know a little more about how that offense will actually function.

But truthfully, this draft just taught us that they want to redo it with a little more juice. The additions of Monroe Freeling and Sam Hecht indicate that they want to build up the offensive line, which has kind of been the bread and butter for a couple of years now.

By adding those two, even after signing Rasheed Walker and Luke Fortner, the Panthers have ensured they have both depth and talent at key spots. That was what they wanted to do with the Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt signings in 2024.

They also didn't spend a lot on weapons. Chris Brazzell is a nice pick, but they passed on potential weapons like Makai Lemon, Eli Stowers, Justin Joly, Deion Burks, Mike Washington Jr., and Jonah Coleman. In essence, they're pretty satisfied with the weapons they have.

The selection of Brazzell even proves this. Xavier Legette is a bust, we can safely say at this point. He needed to be replaced. But instead of drafting a Lemon or another slot weapon, or at least someone small and shifty, the Panthers just replaced Legette with Legette.

Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell II (17) yells in celebration after scoring a touchdown | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

They added a tall (6'4"), fast (4.37 40 time) wide receiver to replace the other tall (6'3"), fast (4.39 40 time) receiver. They're so comfortable with the construction of the offense around Bryce Young that they didn't really change a single thing.

They specifically passed up chances to change things, only adding beef up front that doesn't really change the makeup of the offense. Their plan is to run it back with a better defense on the other side, and the draft proved that.

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