The Carolina Panthers had a disappointing season, finishing with the worst record in football, partly due to their underperforming rookie draft class. Eric Edholm and Chad Reuter reviewed the performance of every draft class, ranking the Panthers 28th out of 32 teams. The article highlights the poor performance of first-overall pick Bryce Young, who had a statistically atrocious season. Second-round pick Jonathan Mingo also struggled, with numerous drops and mental errors. The only bright spot was outside linebacker D.J. Johnson, who played well before being sidelined by injury. While it may be hard for Panthers fans to accept, the ranking seems fair considering the team’s overall poor season. The article suggests that Young still has time to turn it around, but the rest of the draft class needs to improve significantly to become NFL-caliber players. Fourth-round pick Chandler Zavala was particularly problematic, ranking last among eligible guards with a PFF grade of 26.2.
