With the draft of the NFL in 2025, fans of the Panthers of Caroline vigorously debated the position that their beloved franchise should target with the eighth overall choice.
Will the team seek to add a cornerstone room to their defensive front? A new defensive return to the side paid Cornerback Jaycee Horn? Or will they attack the offensive side of the ball, where almost all positions could be improved with the right blue shredder?
Well, during the NFL meetings in Palm Beach, head coach Dave Canales weighed on this very situation, letting fans know that when selecting the best available player is obviously the goal of everyone, adding a defensive player to their famous league unit should also be prioritized.
“To be in this position, in my mind, when you have the opportunity to choose in the Top 10 of the draft, we do all the work to make sure to identify the best available player. We had excellent conversations on certain offensive game leaders in this course, some defensive game leaders – and we left saying: “ ok, look, we are going to do a great player. time.’ This is really where our conversations are, ”said Canales via the Wire panthers.
Carolina Panthers related newsThe article continues below
“We must first meet the defense needs. We are 32nd in the NFL in defense, and this is something where our goal has gone – to make sure that we can play good, balanced and complementary football.”
There are not two ways: in 2024, the defense of the panthers was bad. They ranked 23rd through defense, Dead Last against the race, and should not be much better this season, even with a series of new additions and Derrick Brown’s return to the defensive line.
Although a player alone does not do things magically, because even the best defenders of this year’s class, Abdul Cater, Mason Graham and Travis Hunter, could only improve one place, any addition could have fashionable things in the right direction, especially if the team is able to invest even more active on the defensive side of the ball later in the draft.