Biggest Draft Steals and Busts of Dan Morgan Panthers Era

The Carolina Panthers hired Dan Morgan (internally, he was the assistant GM before that) ahead of the 2024 season to help turn things around after the disastrous Scott Fitterer era. He had a major mess to clean up.

In two seasons, primarily through the draft, he has been able to rebuild and even got the Panthers into the playoffs last year. His two-year tenure hasn't been perfect. There's been some good and some bad.

With few exceptions, the good and bad can be delineated by year. 2024 was bad. Morgan was aggressive in all the wrong ways, and his talent evaluation was not good. 2025 was good, as Morgan's refined approach led to the Rookie of the Year and other contributors.

Best draft picks under Dan Morgan

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) runs against Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

As mentioned, much of the success in Dan Morgan's draft history is in 2025, which bodes well for 2026. He figured it out, starting with Tetairoa McMillan as the eighth overall pick.

Now, that isn't much of a steal, but context matters. McMillan wasn't the surefire WR1 (excluding Travis Hunter), and he wasn't a surefire top-10 pick. Plus, the Los Angeles Rams wanted the pick, so Morgan could've traded down and added a ton of assets.

He followed it up with two really good draft steals. Nic Scourton played like a top-three edge in his class, and he was the 51st pick. Princely Umanmielen had more splash plays in less playing time than Scourton, and he was a third-rounder.

Mitchell Evans in the fifth round was good, too, as he graded out really well per PFF. Jimmy Horn Jr., a sixth-rounder, flashed in limited playing time and could be an important piece of the offense, so that's the definition of a steal.

In 2024, the selection of Chau Smith-Wade in the fifth round is pretty solid. He's not special, and he's not even a player who'd start across the league. But finding a semi-competent defensive starter in that round is pretty impressive.

Worst Panthers draft picks under Dan Morgan

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) warms up before the game | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

We'd all like to forget 2024. It started with trading up one pick into the first round to get Xavier Legette. That is the biggest mistake he's made. Legette has been flat-out bad, and the fifth-year option is probably irrelevant now.

It didn't end there, though. Morgan was aggressive again, trading up for Jonathon Brooks. He was coming off a torn ACL, and he's since torn that same ACL. He has appeared sparingly in three games since being drafted, so that's a huge miss in the second round.

Trevin Wallace in the third round isn't a horrible pick, but taking him over Cooper Beebe, Calen Bullock, Jalyx Hunt, and a handful of other prospects looms large. He will likely be replaced in this draft, which is the telltale sign of a misfire.

Ja'Tavion Sanders could've ended up in the top section. He's athletic, and getting a player like what he could be in the fourth round is good value. Thus far, he hasn't put it together, and he's been injured, so it's another bust.

In 2025, taking Trevor Etienne over Tory Horton and others was a mistake. Not only was Etienne pretty useless on offense, he was a mediocre return man, and the Panthers already have an overloaded running back room.

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