CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- At the NFL Scouting Combine two years ago, then-Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer and Ryan Poles, his Chicago Bears counterpart, began the trade talks that would culminate with the Panthers holding the No. 1 pick.
As last year's combine, new GM Dan Morgan was clear about the Panthers' priority, saying they would "do everything in our power" to improve the offensive line after Bryce Young was sacked 62 times as a rookie.
Morgan and Panthers coach Dave Canales confirmed at this year's combine they're shifting the focus to the defense after a season in which the Panthers gave up the most points in NFL history and became just the fourth team to allow 3,000 rushing yards.
The Panthers have needs on all three levels of the defense, but Morgan indicated they'll start with the front seven and go from there. How the Panthers plug those specific holes in free agency and the draft will play out over the next two months. In speaking with officials with other teams, agents and league sources last week in Indianapolis, The Athletic gained a better understanding of those offseason plans as well as other Panthers-related issues.
What we learned over four days at the combine:
Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker did not work out in Indy, but the Salisbury, N.C., native still emerged as a combine "winner" in one respect at least. Teams that met with Walker -- a list that included the Panthers -- came away impressed with his makeup and football acumen. That was not surprising for a player who grew up around football: Walker's dad, Curtis, is the former head coach at Catawba College (2013-22) who also was the defensive coordinator at Western Carolina (2012).
Walker was an off-ball linebacker at Georgia, but some scouts and draft analysts believe he could also thrive as an edge rusher at the next level. Morgan declined to say what he views as Walker's best position. Given Walker's position history and combine measurements (6-1 and 243 pounds) there will be mixed opinions about whether he can be a full-time edge in the NFL. But linebackers such as Frankie Luvu and others have found success in hybrid roles as penetrators and situational pass rushers.
"I don't know how most teams see him. I know he's a talented player," Morgan said. "There's a lot of talented players in this draft. He's just one of many. Excited to just keep digging and getting to know these guys and move forward."
The news that Penn State pass-rusher Abdul Carter has a stress reaction in his foot has done little to dampen the pre-draft hype surrounding Carter, a projected top-3 pick who could go No. 1. If the Panthers trade from No. 8, it would be a move back. In other words, don't hold your breath waiting to see Carter in Charlotte.
After Carter, the other highest-rated edge rushers all seem to come with a question or two. Walker is viewed by some as a tweener. Texas A&M's Shemar Stewart and Mykel Williams, Walker's Georgia teammate, both have the physical traits but were not all that productive in college. The 6-5, 267-pound Stewart had a strong showing in Indy, running the 40 in 4.59 seconds and posting a 40-inch vertical leap. But Stewart never had more than 1 1/2 sacks in any of his three seasons for the Aggies.
Marshall's Mike Green led all FBS players with 17 sacks last year but faced separate sexual assault allegations in high school and at Virginia.
Tennessee's James Pearce had the fastest 40 time (4.47 seconds) among defensive ends, although his 31-inch vertical was well behind Stewart's, for what that's worth. Pearce, a Charlotte native, was inconsistent at Tennessee. But as Canales said, "His big plays are special."
With pro days and top-30 visits still to come, I left Indy still thinking the Panthers would love to see Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham fall to 8. But they also seem to like Walker a lot.
Contract talks between the Panthers and cornerback Jaycee Horn are continuing, with both sides interested in getting a deal done. Coming off his first Pro Bowl, Horn is believed to be looking for a contract in line with some of the highest-paid corners in the league, with an average annual value of $20 million or more.
Provided the deal gets done, it will be a big payday for a player who before 2024 was best known for a long injury history that sidelined him for 29 of 51 games over his first three seasons. But Horn changed his offseason regimen last winter, played a career-high 15 games and hit personal bests in tackles (68) and sacks (2). His 13 passes defensed matched his total from his first three years combined.
As a first-year coach, Canales said he appreciated Horn's commitment.
"I saw a guy that was just so focused on helping the team, on being out there, on making sure that his body was right," Canales said. "I wasn't around Jaycee before, but what I saw was just this professionalism. This way that he went about his week, his body readiness, his mental preparation, his film study, all those habits. I just saw him give us something so solid and stable, for other guys to see this is how you achieve excellence."
The Panthers double-dipped at guard in free agency last year by giving big contracts to Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, both of whom played well in their first seasons with Carolina. With this year's focus on defense, expect the Panthers to be aggressive in free agency trying to fill holes on the defensive interior, at edge rusher and essentially the entire safety room.
Some names to watch include Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun and Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams and Denver Broncos nose tackle D.J. Jones, who has ties to Ejiro Evero. Morgan and executive VP of football operations Brandt Tilis want to try to check as many boxes as possible in free agency so they can go best player available in the draft. But the Panthers' needs are so numerous on defense that their draft board figures to be full of defensive players as well.
When the Panthers balked on giving Eddy Pineiro an extension last summer, there was a good chance 2024 would be his last season in Charlotte. Despite Pineiro's place behind Justin Tucker and Harrison Butker on the all-time field goal percentage list, questions about his leg strength persist and the Panthers will let him hit free agency. Morgan said he wouldn't completely close the door on a Pineiro return, but in the next breath he added the Panthers would be "actively looking" for another kicker. So Pineiro almost certainly won't be walking through the door at BoA Stadium, unless it's as a visiting player.
The Panthers retained one of their specialists when they re-signed 39-year-old long snapper J.J. Jansen to a one-year deal. Morgan said the Panthers also would like to bring back veteran punter Johnny Hekker, another pending free agent. Hekker's numbers have dropped off a bit the past two years. But he can still be an effective field-position weapon, and the Panthers don't like the idea of going into next season with a new punter and unproven kicker.
The Panthers recently signed journeyman kicker Matt Wright to a reserve/future contract. The plan is to have Wright, who filled in for an injured Pineiro in the final game of the 2023 season, compete with a rookie in training camp.
The Panthers could either take a kicker late or sign one after the draft. Four kickers were invited to the combine: Arizona's Tyler Loop, Miami's Andrew Borregales, Pittsburgh's Ben Sauls and Florida State's Ryan Fitzgerald.
* As Morgan said publicly, the Panthers are talking to the agents for centers Austin Corbett, an unrestricted free agent, and Cade Mays, who's a restricted free agent. With the price of the RFA tenders continuing to increase, the Panthers could look to sign Mays to more of a team-friendly deal. While the goal would be to have Corbett and Mays compete for the starting spot, having Mays as a trusted backup would be valuable given Corbett's recent injury history.
* Whoever is playing center will have a different assistant coaching them this year. Keli'i Kekuewa, the assistant offensive line coach who worked with the centers in 2024, left to take a position with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Panthers don't plan to replace him but instead will have run game coordinator Harold Goodwin coach both guards and centers. Offensive line coach Joe Gilbert will continue overseeing the tackles.
* There have been no official updates, but it looks promising that the NFL draft will come to Charlotte by the end of the decade. After this year's draft in Green Bay, Pittsburgh is set to host in 2026. The expectation is that Denver will get the 2027 draft, making 2028 the earliest that Charlotte would host. The Charlotte Sports Foundation, led by former Panthers president Danny Morrison, is heading the city's efforts. Charlotte got a little taste of what a draft weekend could look like last spring with the inaugural Lovin' Life Music Fest. More than 85,000 music fans packed into uptown to see 40-plus acts across three stages and three days in May. That was a weekend after Detroit set an attendance record when 700,000 fans flooded into its downtown for the three-day draft.