Dan Morgan, Dave Canales seek ‘Panther fits’ in NFL draft

JEFF HAWKINS | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales (left) and general manager Dan Morgan listen to a question at their April 18 media availability at Bank of America Stadium. Carolina's first pick in 2024 is the 33rd overall.

Not long after taking over as Panthers general manager, Dan Morgan organized his first work retreat.

Morgan gathered his hand-picked first-year coach, Dave Canales, and members of the recently installed staff to discuss the direction of a franchise coming off a league-worst 2-15 campaign. Before releasing their squadron of scouts to scour college pro days to get one more look at targeted prospects, Morgan called everyone in. He wanted everyone on the same page.  

With the draft one week away, Canales on Thursday reflected on the new staff’s initial think tank, which emphasized “our schemes ... literally went like big picture offensive philosophy ... (coordinator Ejiro Evero) comes in and talks about big picture defensive philosophy.”

The discussions continued to minute details of the “culture” Morgan and Canales want to create.  

"Dan had the great idea; once our staffs were set, he said, let's bring them in here," Canales said during Thursday’s pre-draft press conference at Bank of America Stadium. “Each position coach talked about the traits that they're looking for. So, then we were able to kind of bring that picture to life from a coaching standpoint."

From there, the personnel staff departed with an objective to unearth what Canales described as “Panther fits.”

Panthers to open Day 2 of NFL draft  

The Panthers, who included their 2024 first-round pick in last year’s package to acquire Bryce Young, currently hold seven selections: Nos. 33, 39, 65, 101, 141, 142 and 240.

As the new staff puts the finishing touches on the first draft board Morgan will command, the Panthers’ biggest post-free agency needs points to identify playmakers at wide receiver, cornerback and edge rusher. A top-rated center would also make second-round sense.

With the first pick on Day 2, the Panthers possess an enticing piece of draft capital. For a team seeking to add assets, Morgan is preparing to field a plethora of inquiring phone calls late Thursday night and Friday morning.

“I think sitting at 33, obviously, you have 32 teams ahead of you,” he said. “So, we really gotta see how it plays out. I’m not gonna box myself into any, ‘Hey, we’re not gonna do this, we’re not gonna do that.’  
“Ideally, though, if we’re sitting there and there’s a really good player, we’ll take him. Trading up, those are discussions that we still have to have. So, I think everything is on the table right now.”

The Panthers’ offense, which struggled on inside pocket protection for Young, finished last in points and yards last season. The defense, while yielding the fourth-fewest yards per game, struggled to force turnovers, placing last in takeaways.

On finding playmakers on both sides of the ball, Canales said: "It's not about surrounding Bryce with great players. It's about building a great team."

Building new team culture

Exiting free agency, the Panthers tried to make for being forced into trading Brian Burns at a reduced price and the loss of a few key players by signing two high-priced guards, Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, for a combined $153 million and added to their pass rush with Jadeveon Clowney, D.J. Wonnum and K’Lavon Chaisson. They also inked a starting inside linebacker (Josey Jewell) and defensive depth at defensive line (A’Shawn Robinson) and cornerback (Dane Jackson). Morgan also traded with the Pittsburgh Steelers for receiver Diontae Johnson.

With the team’s major offseason deficiencies addressed, Morgan said: “I think that will set us up nicely during the draft to allow us to draft the best player available and just take really good football players that fit what we want from a schematic standpoint, from a culture standpoint and all those things we talked about.”

Added Canales: “One of the coolest things that I saw is as we worked through free agency, coming out of the other side of it with this great feeling like, ‘All right, this takes some pressure off of, gosh, we gotta meet all these needs through the draft.’ “    

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