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I can't wait to go through this analysis

What's more likely? An entire competant NFL front office (as many here suggest Morgan runs) has watched Bryce struggle week in and week out to perform at the bare minimum of NFL QBs for 3 years and has decided that's the future of this organization, OR our owner who has proven repeatedly he can't keep his nose out of team decision making has declared Bryce is our QB until he decides otherwise, especially given he's the one that drafted him in the first place?

It is time to take a look at the defense. Without further ado do.... Edge (OLB): I think we overpaid for Jaelan Phillips, but he is constant pressure with 73 pressures in 2025, ranking 9th in the NFL. In all, he was the 20th (of 111) rated pass rushing edge in 2025 according to PFF, putting him in the top 20% in the nfl. With a pair of solid ILBs beside him and if we can get Wharton going, I think the sum of the parts will make him better than he was in Philly. Furthermore, with second-year pro Princely Umanmielen behind him, I expect him to grow with the tutoring and competition. On the other side, the duo of Nick Scourton and Patrick Jones II is strong, in my view. Scourton generated 34 total pressures as a pass rusher. That total included 8 sacks, 23 hurries, 3 hits. Against the run, he recorded 28 solo tackles. For a rookie, second round, edge, that is great. He also forced 1 fumble on the season. Jones was decent in 2025 in just 131 snaps, but he is solid veteran depth. We seem to lack the elite pass rusher, but this rotational unit will be a big upgrade over last season. Expect Scourton and Princely to show improvement. While it is unlikely that we add more to edge this draft, you can never have too many pass rushers (well, you can--two sophomores and two veterans is a good mix). Would the Panthers take an edge if one was sitting there? Absolutely. Defensive End: Derrick Brown is a stud. I did not notice how dominant he became as a pass rusher. His PFF pass-rush grade of 72.0 ranked 23rd among 134 qualified interior defensive linemans. His run-defense grade of 66.3 ranked 22nd at the position. He generated 35 total pressures as a pass rusher. That total included 6 sacks, 23 hurries, 6 hits. On the other side: What the hell? Tershawn Wharton earned a 40.8 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 127th among 134 qualified interior defensive linemans. His PFF pass-rush grade of 57.0 ranked 95th among 134 qualified interior defensive linemen. His run-defense grade of 34.8 ranked 125th at the position. However, Wharton needs to be situational and we really need a few DEs who can plug and pressure. LaBryan Ray is an interior defensive lineman for the Carolina Panthers who earned a 45.7 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season. You cannot tell me that we are not going to add a DE. In my view, this is a HUGE need that we have not adequately addressed. There were only 3 DEs in the NFL who played more snaps that Derrick Brown. We have to give him more blows during the game. So After Brown, we have 2 other players who need to improve a lot to reach mediocre. Nose Tackle: Of course, a NT might move out some to help stuff the run at DE opposite Brown, and stats do not always reflect on a NT's actual value. Bobby Brown III earned a 54.1 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 80th among 134 qualified interior defensive linemen. His PFF pass-rush grade of 51.1 ranked 126th among 134 qualified interior defensive linemans. His run-defense grade of 57.8 ranked 51st at the position. Behind him, Cam'Ron Jackson is an earned a 45.5 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season. The defensive line is weak, based on 2025 performance rankings in PFF. After DBrown, they pretty much suck. These are the guys our ILBs will be counting on. Inside Linebacker: Devin Lloyd earned a 89.1 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 3rd among 88 qualified linebackers. His PFF coverage grade of 81.1 ranked 3rd among 88 qualified linebackers. His run-defense grade of 83.2 ranked 11th at the position. His pass-rush grade of 82.2 ranked 5th among qualified linebackers. He's good. At the moment, beside him is Trevin Wallace who earned a 55.9 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 57th among 88 qualified linebackers. His PFF coverage grade of 64.5 ranked 25th among 88 qualified linebackers. His run-defense grade of 42.3 ranked 85th at the position. His pass-rush grade of 64.2 ranked 45th among qualified linebackers. Wallace was best as a coverage LB, and based on my memory, I am not sure he was in the top third, but if PFF says so...however, he was nearly last vs. the run. We need better to play beside Lloyd. Bam Morris-Scott earned a 37.6 overall PFF defensive grade. To put that in perspective, I was rated by PFF at 32.3 on my couch. Cherilus Claudin is the third best ILB on the roster right now. He earned a 59.2 overall PFF defensive grade in just over 200 snaps. Having lost Rozeboom, the Panthers are very thin behind Lloyd. Look for a starting-caliber ILB in the draft. Wallace is not the guy, but he is decent depth. Nickel CB: Chau Smith-Wade earned a 57.0 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 79th among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His PFF coverage grade of 57.2 ranked 79th among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His run-defense grade of 55.4 ranked 77th at the position. For a nickel, he played a lot--garnering over 600 snaps. Corey Thornton was a pleasant surprise, until he was injured. However, in just 127 snaps, he was very good, earning a 68.5 overall PFF defensive grade. I think he can play outside in a pinch, but nickel might be his gig. I am not sold that Nickel is in good hands, but Thornton is promising. Smith-Wade is average, and with the experience he has accumulated, we are probably not prioritizing Nickel, but there are some good nickels in the draft. Cornerback: Michael Jackson should have been in the pro bowl. He earned a 79.1 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 4th among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His PFF coverage grade of 80.9 ranked 3rd among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His run-defense grade of 67.2 ranked 36th at the position. He recorded 4 interceptions on the season. Jackson broke up 9 passes in coverage. He allowed a 72.9 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks --SOLID!! Our second-best CB, Jaycee Horn, was in the pro bowl. He earned a 57.8 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 76th among 114 qualified corner.backs. His PFF coverage grade of 61.6 ranked 61st among 114 qualified cornerbacks. His run-defense grade of 50.5 ranked 87th at the position. He recorded 5 interceptions on the season. Our CBs had NINE interceptions in 2025. It is doubtful they duplicate that figure, but Jackson was our best CB. We are thin at CB, but the two we put out there are solid. Nickel, at this time, is "meh," but both are developing and should improve. A great draft for Nickel. The Panthers will add a CB somehow. Safety: For now, Trevon Moehrig is as advertised--above average vs. the run, below average in coverage, making him average. He earned a 64.3 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 50th among 98 qualified safeties. His PFF coverage grade of 55.3 ranked 64th among 98 qualified safeties. His run-defense grade of 73.5 ranked 37th at the position. Lathan Ransom got some valuable experience in 2025, getting in on 330 plays or so. He earned a 62.9 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 56th among 98 qualified safeties. (Average, not bad for a day 3 rookie) His PFF coverage grade of 55.8 ranked 63rd among 98 qualified safeties. His run-defense grade of 85.1 ranked 4th at the position. A pure strong safety, if you ask me. Nick Scott earned a 67.8 overall PFF defensive grade in the 2025 season, 36th among 98 qualified safeties. His PFF coverage grade of 67.3 ranked 31st among 98 qualified safeties. His run-defense grade of 69.3 ranked 56th at the position. Expect a draft pick at FS. Demani Richardson is a safety for the Carolina Panthers who earned a 71.5 overall PFF defensive grade n 29 plays. Nothing to see here. Isaiah Simmons is probably more special teams than defensive player. Overall: We are thin on defense. No real depth at CB, S, and DE/NT. However, we have 5 starters who are pro bowl level players (D. Brown, Lloyd, Jackson, Horn, and Phillips--and I might throw Scourton in on that pile for the sixth potential pro bowler). We are weak at NT, and if Wharton does not step up, DE. Funny, I see Edge as our strength (and we really don't have a sack artist) and I love our starting CBs. Moehrig is making too much to be average. Expect: In the draft, I think we have to draft a DT. Having done this, I am not sure that we go after a S when we have such glaring needs at other positions. We could upgrade at nickel and give the CB room more depth. OLB? Wallace is decent depth, and he could start in a pinch. DE is our biggest need. The answer could be on the roster?

I hate it

It’s so funny (slash, not funny) that coming out the opposite was one of, if not the key reason, why we should draft him. He was supposed to be this point guard that makes everyone around him better. OL cap spend and draft capital to completely overhaul the offense and here we are entering year 4 with question marks still.

Hearing rumblings of the Texans looking to trade up & a target who comes to mind is Keldrick Faulk. Ryans was in SF when Buckner and Armstead were there and made a point of targeting Denico Autry as a free agent. Faulk is long and still growing into his frame. (1/2) https://x.com/LanceZierlein/status/2047114462457733361?s=20

The Flyers got a lot better over the course of the season. It’s not going to be an easy series. Canes should still handle them but what should be an easy series might go to 7 games

Just a competent Oline would have been enough.

Asked several NFL scouts to predict which off-ball linebacker goes second at the position this week, after Sonny Styles. The consensus was Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez. Carolina and Buffalo are among teams that did extensive homework on Rodriguez. https://x.com/jfowlerespn/status/2047120772519358694?s=46&t=xeIgh_-Vr2aKxBkBJdfnKA

Nek minute we trade

All I will say is, imagine if we catered to Cam like we're doing with Bryce. We would have had at minimum 2 superbowls during the Cam era had we done that.

I think you are right, that does get us back into the first. Possibly higher than 28. Two late 1sts, no second. Interesting.

I think if Bain, Styles, or Downs fall to 11... the Panthers trade up to get them.

The LLM needs to be trained and there is a lot of care and feeding that needs to take place. Garbage data in results in garbage information out. It can be a powerful tool if used properly but it should not be the sole decision maker.

Fans mostly argue the sex appeal. Pros are supposed to be above falling into this trap, but they often do.

You don’t really draft players on sex appeal, you draft available talent relative to needs, positional value, depth of position, and overall cost of acquiring players elsewhere. OT and DT don’t have a lot of names that are highly sought after, skill positions are expensive high value positions that are deep in this particular class, thus the interest.

That is what you took from that? Seems like you want to argue with someone, or me specifically 1st round talent according to the rest of the world. Don’t want either, but apparently in this year’s version they are considered top shelf. 1st round being the shelf in question. It isn’t just this year either. T Mac was definitely top shelf. And they drafted XL in the first.

Yes, use AI to help with organizing data But whomever is using the AI tool needs to ensure the data going in is correct, and that they are skilled in prompting what task to perform so the human can analyze the output AI running amok on its own is a Bad Idea.

I think Carolina trades down to acquire another pick. They really like Jrod and will use that pick to move up to the top of the 2nd or the bottom of the 1st to draft him. They wont use pick #19 on Jrod. Its gonna be a combo of WR/Jrod. Houston would be good canidate, Carolina gets pick #28 and #59, Houston gets #19. Carolinas pick 51 and 59 is enough to move back into the first.

That is the goal. 1-1.

So you think Sadiq and KC are top shelf?

I was just spewing in another thread and posted something I should have included in my response to your post. Basically, they know that Bryce can’t elevate people. They have to try and get people who will elevate him.