By Clark Gerber, WRAL Sports Contributor

There’s a lot at stake for the Carolina Panthers at next week’s NFL Draft.

Granted, there’s a lot at stake for every NFL team, but the Panthers in particular seem in dire need of a killer draft class that can help turn things around.

Make no bones about it, Carolina is in dangerous territory. A flurry of poor roster moves has them at the very bottom of the league, praying that an undersized second year quarterback — with a subpar supporting cast — can save them.

If this year’s draft class is a dud, they risk destroying any real chance for Bryce Young to develop into an NFL-caliber starting quarterback (let alone a franchise player), and likely set up another five years of losing football.

With the right draft class, however, the Panthers could reverse their fortunes a lot sooner than you may think. Maybe not in 2024 (I think it would take a small miracle for them to make the playoffs this year), but perhaps 2025 with a re-invigorated Young still on his rookie contract?

It’s possible.

The Gameplan

I’m not going to pretend that I’ve studied film on every draft prospect on the Panthers draft board, but I have done my research.

I know what holes the Panthers need to fill on their roster and have a pretty good sense of how those positions break down in this year’s class. (Plus I watch a ton of college football, so I have opinions on most of these guys.)

Carolina currently has seven picks and, by my count, four major needs that it needs to address in the draft — wide receiver, edge rusher, cornerback and offensive line.

Sure, you could argue that every position is a “need” for the Panthers, but those top four should be the priority. If they don’t draft at least one player from each of those position groups, something went wrong.

With that in mind, let’s break it down and create an ideal gameplan for the Panthers, pick-by-pick.

For simplicity’s sake, I’m going ignore any trade scenarios and instead focus on when the Panthers should target each position and which players they should realistically be considering.

Round 2, Pick 1 (33rd overall)

Ideal position group: Edge rusher, cornerback
Players to watch: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson; Kool-Aid McKinistry, CB, Alabama; Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State; Darius Robinson, EDGE, Missouri; Ennis Rakestraw Jr, CB, Missouri

I know fans will be anxious to see Carolina draft a wide receiver as soon as they can, but hold your horses.

Edge rusher and cornerback are not as deep as receiver this year, and there seems to be a more significant drop (value wise) after the players listed above.

All are first round talents, but we know how this goes. One of them is going to fall to Day 2. And when they do, Carolina should scoop them up before anyone else can.

The Panthers will be doing cartwheels if Wiggins, McKinistry or Chop Robinson falls in their lap at No. 33.

Wiggins and McKinistry would be a great option to start right away opposite Jaycee Horn, while Chop Robinson has the kind of elite explosiveness that could produce sacks right away in the NFL.

If not one of those three, the two Missouri players still present some solid value in this spot, but do have some more pronounced drawbacks.

Darius Robinson has great size, but might lack the athleticism to be a true edge rusher in a 3-4 scheme and could get moved inside.

Rakestraw, meanwhile, is exactly the type of “dawg” Dan Morgan said he wanted to bring into Carolina, but does have some concerning injury history and ran a little slow at the combine.

Round 2, Pick 7 (39th overall)

Ideal position group: Wide receiver
Players to watch: Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas; Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas; Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia; Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon; Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State; Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida; Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina; Roman Wilson, WR, Michigan.

This is why the Panthers can afford to wait on a wide out. Just look at that list.

The receiver class is absurdly deep this year and Carolina is going to be in a great spot no matter who falls to them. Every one of the receivers on this list would provide an instant upgrade.

Adonai Mitchell is an explosive athlete with excellent hands. Xavier Worthy is literally the fastest player in this draft class. Ladd McConkey and Ricky Pearsall are elite route runners. Troy Franklin and Keon Coleman are physical freaks. Xavier Legette has drawn comparisons to Deebo Samuel. And Roman Wilson just carried an otherwise-average Michigan receiving group to a national title.

You really can’t go wrong.

Out of the group, I’d be rooting hardest for Worthy if I were a Panthers fan.

His elite speed will instantly give Bryce Young and the offense the threat of a vertical passing game, which is something they really didn’t have last year. Worthy would force defenses to respect the deep ball, which should soften things up underneath for Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen and the rest.

Round 3, Pick 1 (65th overall)

Ideal position group: Edge rusher, cornerback, or offensive line
Players to watch: T.J. Tampa, CB, Iowa State; Max Melton, CB, Rutgers; Marshawn Kneeland, EDGE, W. Michigan; Bralen Trice, EDGE, Washington; Cooper Beebe, IOL, Kansas State; Patrick Paul, OT, Houston; Adisa Isaac, EDGE, Penn State

Two needs have been addressed, now let’s make it three.

The Panthers should again target a cornerback or edge rusher in this spot, and also start giving some consideration to the offensive line.

Yes, Carolina spent a truckload of money on two offensive guards last month, but there’s still work to be done. Austin Corbett likely isn’t the long-term answer as he reportedly switches to center. Plus, are we sure Ikey Ekwonu can bounce back and save his job?

In any case, I think the Panthers would ideally like to go edge rusher here (assuming they were able to grab a cornerback at No. 33).

Marshawn Kneeland, Bralen Trice and Adisa Isaac were all accomplished college players with the requisite size and, more importantly, motor to succeed at the next level.

Round 4, Pick 1 (101st overall)

Ideal position group: Wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, linebacker, or cornerback
Players to watch: Jeremiah Trotter Jr, LB, Clemson; Khyree Jackson, CB, Oregon; Cam Hart, CB, Notre Dame; Cade Stover, TE, Ohio State; Cedric Gray, LB, North Carolina; Javon Baker, WR, UCF; Theo Johnson, TE, Penn State; Sedrick Van Pran, IOL, Georgia; Malik Washington, WR, Virginia

With most of the major needs addressed, I think the Panthers can start opening it up a bit here depending on value.

Linebackers Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Cedric Gray are better than 4th round prospects, they just happen to play a non-premium position and could fall into Carolina’s lap.

The same can be said for Cade Stover and Theo Johnson at tight end, both of whom could become a productive red zone target and a possible long term upgrade over Tommy Tremble (although I do like how Tremble played in the back half of last season).

Outside of those four options, I think the Panthers should still stick in the major need position groups.

In particular, I think Sedrick Van Pran would be an amazing fit at center. He is a two-time national champion and was finalist for the Rimington Award last year, who could step in right away and compete with Corbett for the starting job.

Round 5, Pick 6 (141st overall) & Round 5, Pick 7 (142nd overall)

Ideal position group: Best available
Players to watch: Caelon Carson, CB, Wake Forest; Mekhi Wingo, DL, LSU; DeWayne Carter, DL, Duke; Kalen King, CB, Penn State; Zak Zinter, IOL, Michigan; Will Shipley, RB, Clemson; Beaux Limmer, IOL, Arkansas; Jacob Cowing, WR, Arizona; Matt Goncalves, OT, Pitt

The Panthers currently own back-to-back picks in the 5th round, so I’m lumping them together here.

At this point in the draft, you can obviously still favor your needs, but I think you’re much better off targeting the best player available, regardless of position.

In the 5th round, that could mean Carolina starts looking for a running back like Charlotte native Will Shipley if he’s still there.

I think it’s safe to assume Miles Sanders is gone after next season and Chuba Hubbard is entering the last year on his contract. Shipley could be a nice insurance policy for the future at that position.

Or maybe the Panthers try to pull an LA Rams and strike gold with a 5th round wide receiver?

Arizona’s Jacob Cowing is my favorite pass catcher in this range. If anybody is going to be this year’s Puka Nacua, I think it’s him.

Round 7, Pick 20 (240th overall)

Ideal position group: Best available
Players to watch: Tanner McLachlan, TE, Arizona; Trevor Keegan, IOL, Michigan; Jawhar Jordan, RB, Louisville; M.J. Devonshire, CB, Pitt; Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, WR, Georgia; Jaden Crumedy, DL, Mississippi State; Grayson Murphy, EDGE, UCLA; Dominique Hampton, S, Washington

Depth, depth, depth.

For every Brock Purdy or Julian Edelman in the 7th round, there are hundreds and hundreds of players you’ve never heard of. The practical thing to focus on here is building the lower half of your roster, and there are a few candidates that I think fit the bill.

Michigan’s Trevor Keegan or Mississippi State’s Jaden Crumedy could be solid options for the Panthers as they look to beef up in the trenches… just don’t expect them to be multi-year starters or anything.

Overall, I think this draft has the potential to stack up pretty well for Carolina. That is, if they stick to the gameplan.

Free agency is one thing, but usually it’s success/failure in the draft that determines the overall health of your organization.

It’s been a while since the Panthers nailed it on Draft Day, which is a big part of the reason they’re in their current predicament.

The recent changes to the front office will no doubt bring a different mindset to acquiring talent and, hopefully, yield better results.

One good draft class can change everything.

Maybe this is the year?

Source: wralsportsfan.com