Panthers GM Dan Morgan hits balance between upgrading defense, adding playmakers for QB Bryce Young

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The Carolina Panthers had the worst defense in the league by far last season.

But that didn't stop general manager Dan Morgan from putting some playmakers around quarterback Bryce Young, as the Panthers selected Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the No. 8 pick in the NFL draft and added Georgia running back Trevor Etienne and Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans on Saturday.

Morgan, who once started at middle linebacker in the Super Bowl for the Panthers, was jokingly asked if he was turning into an offensive guy after taking a wide receiver in the first round for the second straight year.

"I'm turning into a guy that just wants to bring good football players in here, and it's just another opportunity to bring a great player in here," Morgan said.

The Panthers spent nearly $250 million on the defense in free agency, giving Morgan some flexibility to take the best available player in the draft.

He and second-year head coach Dave Canales agreed that was McMillan, who caught 84 passes for 1,319 yards in 2024 and scored 26 touchdowns over the past three seasons.

"It's effortless the way he catches the ball, and he catches everything outside his frame," Morgan said. "He's just a great receiver that is super fluid. His body control is some of the best I've seen in a while. He's exciting."

Morgan did get around to the defense on day two, trading up to get a pair of Southeastern Conference edge rushers in Nic Scourton from Texas A&M and Princely Umanmielen from Ole Miss. The Panthers also selected safety Lathan Ransom from Ohio State in the fourth round and defensive tackle Cam Jackson from Florida in the fifth.

"Running through hundreds of simulations, just kinda using mock simulators, if you were to tell me that we were gonna get (McMillan) and then Nic Scourton and then Princely, I mean, I didn't get that not once in any of my mocks in the first three picks," Canales said. "I’m ecstatic."

McMillan is expected to compete for a starting job right away with last year’s first-round draft pick Xavier Legette, who had 49 receptions for 497 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie.

However, it’s quite possible that both could wind up starting down the road. Veteran Adam Thielen turns 35 in August and is entering the final year of his contract.

"I love for the pressure to be on us to utilize these guys with their talents, the unique abilities they have to fit them into the core of our schemes to continue to find out who we are and to find that identity in the pass game," Canales said of the team’s receiving room.

The decision to select two edge rushers early in the draft casts serious doubt over Jadeveon Clowney’s future with the Panthers. Carolina now has six edge rushers on the roster, including D.J. Wonnum, recent free agent pickup Patrick Jones II and 2023 third-round pick D.J. Johnson.

Clowney, 32, and had just 5 1/2 sacks last season and is set to count $13.8 million against the salary cap.

"We're still working through the roster," Morgan said of Clowney’s future. "We're still talking through things. Obviously, we're focused on the draft right now and what's in front of us."

The Panthers drafted Jonathan Brooks in the second round of the 2024 draft with the hope that he’d develop into the team’s main running back. But the former Texas standout tore his ACL for a second time in two years, leading to concerns about his long-term durability.

Carolina signed free agent Rico Dowdle to back up Chuba Hubbard before drafting Etienne, the younger brother of Travis Etienne, with one of its two fourth-round picks. Suddenly, the team’s backfield looks pretty crowded assuming Brooks can recover and play this upcoming season.

Morgan said the Panthers will make a decision on whether to pick up the fifth-year option on left tackle Ickey Ekwonu’s contract in the coming days. The team would like to sign Ekwonu to a long-term deal, but so far the sides have not been able to strike a deal.