Panthers coach Dave Canales: We drafted for ‘juice’  

MICHIGAN ATHLETICS

Former Michigan linebacker Mike Barrett went to the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the NFL draft as the 240th player selected.

After wrapping up the NFL Draft on Saturday, new Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales summed up the team’s three-day work by suggesting: “Skill-wise, we are bringing in some juice to elevate the offense.”

Led by new general manager Dan Morgan, the rebuilding franchise maintained its pre-draft game plan. During free agency, the front office fortified the offensive line and added depth. During the draft, they attacked the skill positions.

“You could say that was the plan,” Morgan said via video conference call.

With the 101st pick, the Panthers opened Day 3 by selecting Texas tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders. After drafting wide receiver Xavier Legette in the first round and running back Jonathon Brooks in the second, Sanders became the third offensive weapon for second-year quarterback Bryce Young.

The Panthers continued to reshape the roster by selecting former Washington State cornerback Chau Smith-Wade in the fifth round, Mississippi State defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy in the sixth and Michigan linebacker Michael Barrett in the seventh. Linebacker Trevin Wallace was selected in Friday’s third round.

In conducting his first draft, Morgan called it a “surreal moment” when he called the players, informing them the Panthers intended to pick them. He recalled his moment when the Panthers drafted him 11th overall in 2011.
“To be able to call ... it’s really a cool feeling,” Morgan said.  

While amassing the offensive assets during the first four rounds, Canales said he was texted with Young, who “was fired up.”

Sanders highlights ‘new age’ picks 

Referring to himself as a “new-age tight end” in the mold of Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, Sanders said his ball-catching skills, which he honed as a high school wide receiver, should allow him to contribute as a rookie.

The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder realizes the situation in which he was drafted. The Panthers produced the fewest yards per game in the NFL last season. He also understands the type of quarterback Young can be. He witnessed it in college.  

“I know he beat us in our own stadium,” Sanders said. “I know what kind of quarterback he is, a true leader.’’

Sanders, who donned jersey number 0 at Texas, said he would like to claim it with the Panthers. With Brian Burns in New York, it’s available.

When targeting tight ends last season, Young compiled an NFL-worst 44.8 total QBR. Sanders said he can see the value he will bring.

“Just my ability to create mismatches wherever I'm at on the field,” he said. “Just putting in the defense's mind that they always got to know where I'm at, at all times.”

Ranked by ESPN as the draft’s No. 2 tight end prospect behind Georgia’s Brock Bowers, Sanders said he FaceTimed Brooks, who arrived at Texas together as freshmen and now enter the NFL as teammates.

“I wasn’t expecting this at all,” Sanders recalled. ‘He had a big smile on his face, and I had one too.”

The Panthers added to the cornerback room with the addition of Smith-Wade at No. 157 overall.

Smith-Wade, who suffered a soft-tissue injury that forced him to miss the final five games of the 2023 season, intercepted two passes during his debut as a nickel back at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Feb. 3.

Named the National team’s player of the game, Smith-Wade returned one interception 83 yards before being tackled a yard short of the goal line.

“I had three days to learn nickel,” he said.

At 5-10, 185 pounds, Smith-Wade said he is considered undersized for outside cornerback but was viewed by scouts as an option at nickel and “perhaps even safety,” he said.
“(The Panthers) see me as a nickel, but I wouldn’t limit me to one position.”  

Smith-Wade said that he “takes pride” in special-teams play. “One, it’s fun,” he said. “Two, just being able to get on the field and be productive.”

With Crumedy joining the fold at No. 200 overall, the Panthers beefed up their depth along the defensive front with an experienced, durable player. The 6-5, 305-pounder appeared in 53 games for Mississippi State, including 47 starts with 39 in a row.  

Carolina closed the draft by selecting Barrett with the 240th pick. A six-time letter-winner, Barrett established a Michigan record by appearing in 64 games.  

The draft may have ended, but Morgan still on the clock, reaching out to undrafted free agents to fill out the 90-man roster while free-agent negotiations are ongoing with veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore.  

“We will not close the door,” Morgan said. “We continue to talk and explore.”  

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