CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Since Dan Morgan became the general manager, the Carolina Panthers have drafted a wide receiver at the end of the first round and another in the top 10.
Asked whether he would take a wideout in the middle of the first round this year — specifically, with the 19th pick — Morgan didn’t rule it out.
“We’re gonna take the best player. So if the best player we feel is (a receiver) at 19, I wouldn’t hesitate to draft another wideout. I don’t think there’s a rule that says you can’t draft a wide receiver three years in a row,” Morgan said Tuesday. “So, I’m not gonna box us in and say we’re not gonna draft one.”
The two wideouts the Panthers have drafted under Morgan have fallen on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their draft positioning and production. Xavier Legette, the 32nd pick in 2024, has struggled with drops and field awareness and was overtaken by former undrafted wideout Jalen Coker on the depth chart last season.
Tetairoa McMillan, the eighth pick last year, was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year after leading all rookies with 70 catches and 1,014 receiving yards. He and Bryce Young developed an early chemistry after McMillan joined Young for a pre-draft workout at a training facility in Southern California.
According to published reports, the Panthers have hosted four wideouts on pre-draft visits: Washington’s Denzel Boston, Oklahoma’s Deion Burks, Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. and Texas A&M’s K.C. Concepcion, a Charlotte native whose visit was considered local and didn’t count against the Panthers’ limit of 30.
The Panthers are thought to be interested in adding a speed receiver with run-after-the-catch ability. Boston is the only one of the four wideouts who came to Charlotte who doesn’t fit that description.
Morgan called this year’s receiver class a good group.
“With all the seven-on-seven camps and kids growing up (with those), I feel like every year there’s wideouts that are super talented. Guys that you can tell they’ve been doing it a long time,” he said. “I think it’s another good class of wideouts, and I think you’ll continue to see it that way.”
Morgan could also give Young another weapon in the form of a tight end. Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq, who has been linked to the Panthers in various mocks, ran the fastest 40 (4.39 seconds) among tight ends at the combine.
Sadiq is not known to have visited the Panthers, who have hosted three tight ends — Ole Miss’ Dae’Quan Wright, Georgia’s Oscar Delp and N.C. State’s Justin Joly — expected to be Day 2 picks or later.
“I think there’s a couple (tight ends) that are talented guys,” Morgan said. “I do think there’s some depth in the later rounds as well.”
The Panthers have drafted a tight end in each of Morgan’s two years as GM, selecting Ja’Tavion Sanders in the fourth round in 2024 and Mitchell Evans in the fifth round last year.