Carolina Panthers General Manager Dan Morgan speaks during a press conference at Bank of America Stadium on Monday, January 6, 2025. Isaiah Vazquez CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Dan Morgan can look at his roster in late March and know that it’ll look radically different in mid-July.
And as teams celebrate their free-agent market hauls across the league, the Carolina Panthers’ brass — while spending quite a bit of cash on seven new arrivals themselves — are looking at the rest of free agency and the draft as a somewhat comparable second part of the roster-upgrading process. The draft, in particular, is an opportunity to fill out the roster with substantial depth, something Morgan has desired since he took over the general manager’s office in January 2024.
The early signs of depth upgrading were shown in the trenches during free agency. The team brought in defensive linemen Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown III and pass rusher Patrick Jones to fill out positional rotations in the front seven.
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) is tackled by Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (98) in the second quarter in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Stephen Lew USA TODAY NETWORK
Wharton and Brown will rotate with the likes of Derrick Brown, A’Shawn Robinson, Shy Tuttle and Jaden Crumedy, while Jones will rotate with Jadeveon Clowney, D.J. Wonnum, D.J. Johnson and Amare Barno.
But just because those three veterans were added to the mix that doesn’t mean Morgan will stop adding to those key position groups.
“The more depth that you have on the defensive side of the ball, on the defensive line, you know, you can have a healthy rotation inside there,” Morgan, Carolina’s general manager, said. “It’s going to keep guys fresh, it’s going to keep guys healthy. And that’s our goal, is to get a front that is able to be a bunch of great players up there that are going to be able to rotate, keep each other fresh, and play hard.”
Similarly, on the offensive line, the Panthers kept their much-improved 2024 group together, establishing a lineup that runs two groups deep.
The team re-signed Austin Corbett and Cade Mays to compete at center, while also bringing back Brady Christensen to serve as a do-everything backup. They also worked out a pay cut restructure with backup offensive tackle Yosh Nijman to keep him around for added depth.
Nov 10, 2024; Munich, Germany; Carolina Panthers center Cade Mays (64) snaps the ball against the New York Giants in the first half during the 2024 NFL Munich Game at Allianz Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee USA TODAY NETWORK
While the four other spots on the starting line are spoken for, the competition between Corbett and Mays will be one of the notable battles to watch in training camp. The returns of Christensen and Nijman could also push the guys in front of them.
“I think it’s healthy to have competition on your team, not just at the center position,” Morgan said. “But I think we want to have competition at multiple positions. And, I think, that’s what we’re trying to get to, is to where our roster is deep and guys are competing and may the best man win.”
The Panthers’ depth alterations won’t be limited to trenches.
The team clearly needs to fill out the safety depth chart, even after the big signing of Tre’von Moehrig. Wide receiver could use some upgrades to convert David Moore and Dan Chisena from somewhat important receiving options to deep depth pieces with special teams roles. And cornerback, inside linebacker, tight end and running back could all use enhanced numbers as well.
Plus, the Panthers also need to bring in competition at kicker, punt returner and kick returner.
The draft and the latter part of free agency can collectively serve as an avenue to meet most, if not all, of those goals.
The Charlotte Observer
Mike Kaye covers the Carolina Panthers for The Charlotte Observer. Kaye previously covered the entire NFL for Pro Football Network, the Philadelphia Eagles for NJ Advance Media and the Jacksonville Jaguars for First Coast News. He is a graduate of the University of North Florida.