Panthers GM Dan Morgan Won't Favor One Side in NFL Draft and Carolina’s Better For It

It’s a team that is in the midst of a dubious eight-year streak in which the clubs has yet to produce a winning record. Yes, the Carolina Panthers are the reigning NFC South champions, albeit with an 8-9 record and a first-round playoff loss on its resume.

Let’s give this club its due because under the guidance of Dan Morgan and Dave Canales, it’s a program that appears to the headed in the right direction. Eight wins is a nice jump from the team Canales inherited in 2024, which was coming off an NFL-worst 2-15 campaign.

Dave Canales’s Carolina Panthers are trending upwards

Canales and Morgan — Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Canales joined the team after serving as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After a 1-7 start during his debut with Carolina, the team rebounded to win four of its final nine games to finish 5-12.

Then there’s Morgan, who was promoted to president of football operations/general manager early in 2024. From 2021-23, he was the assistant GM under Scott Fitterer, who succeeded longtime team executive Marty Hurney. The latter’s final draft came in 2020.

Morgan has now overseen the team’s last three drafts, including this year in which the club selected tackle Monroe Freeling with the 19th overall selection. It actually marked the fifth consecutive draft that the franchise used a first-round selection on an offensive player. Last week, he also added wide receiver Chris Brazzell II (Tennessee) in the third round and center Sam Hecht (Kansas State) in the fifth round.

Dan Morgan has used the draft to fortify both sides of the football

The other four selections were spent on the opther side of the ball in defensive tackle Lee Hunter (2-Texas Tech), cornerback Will Lee III (4-Texas A&M), safety Zakee Wheatley (5b-Penn State), and linebacker Jackson Kuwatch (7-Miami, Ohio).

That’s certainly par of the course under Morgan. He has now commandeered three NFL drafts since being promoted. The Panthers have selected 10 offensive players (3 in the first round), and a dozen defensive players over that span.

If that sounds somewhat familiar, it is. Under Fitterer from 2021-23, Carolina selected a total of 22 players in three drafts. It adds up to a dozen 12 offensive players, nine defenders, and a long snapper (Thomas Fletcher in 2021). All told, the Panthers have selected a combined 44 players in the last six drafts dating back to ’21—22 on offense, 21 on defense, and one on special teams.

Panthers’ offseason offers a lot of promise

Monroe Freeling — Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Why is this relevant? First, it should be noted in 2020, Hurney used all of his seven selections on defense. That includes defensive tackle Derrick Brown with the seventh overall pick that year. Second, Morgan has obviously taken a very balance approach to a franchise that hasn’t finished with a winning record since 2017. It’s a team that was devoid of talent for too many years and is suddenly on the upswing.

With free-agent additions such as edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, Pro Bowl linebacker Devin Lloyd, and tackle Rasheed Walker, along with the promising draft class of 2026, Canales’s team should take a few more steps forward.

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