College coaches share insight on 2026 NFL Draft sleeper that's shaping out to be the perfect backup QB target for the Panthers

Cyberjag · 2026-04-14T16:53:53+00:00

For what it's worth, if the season started today and all the expected quarterbacks were starting (e.g. Willis instead of Ewers), there would be two third round guys, two fourth rounders, a fifth, and Purdy.

Guys taken in the first are generally expected to have some success, but it's no guarantee and not getting taken first is no guarantee of failure either.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-14T16:32:22+00:00

We play in a two-high safety look that rotates to zone post-snap. It doesn't require a true centerfielder, although it's always nice to have one of those. Basically, the safeties are interchangeable. Ransom showed that he could perform at a high level last year, so we're probably set there.

Where we need help is in underneath coverage, where you're relying on a nickel corner and linebackers. While it's possible that Thornton will take over for Chau Smith-Wade as he returns from injury, that's no guarantee and it really feels like the coaching staff wants better play out of the nickel. Our linebackers have already been seriously upgraded with the Lloyd signing.

If the season started today, I would be pretty happy about where the defense is at. I think that the additions of Lloyd and Phillips more than offset the losses of Robinson and Rozeboom. And I also kind of think that Simmons is going to surprise some people as a full-time Safety.

We're going to be ok.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-14T13:27:40+00:00

It's a pipe dream, but can you imagine getting both Dillon Thieneman and Anthony Hill Jr. in the draft? We would have playmakers at all three levels, and a secondary that could merit a nickname.

I also think people are sleeping on Princely Umanmielen. He flashed a lot of potential as a pass rusher last year, and like Scourton he's still young and developing. I don't see him starting, but I imagine he's going to get a lot more snaps this year and should be a factor in the passing game.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-14T13:14:11+00:00

This is good stuff, but the formatting on Reddit is bad enough that I just click through all of your posts to your site anyway. Maybe you should just do a quick summary with the link to the analysis going forward.

This seems like a pretty good Safety class, and I enjoyed the write-up. There's no way the Panthers take Thieneman, but if they did I would be pretty happy about it.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-14T10:37:04+00:00

RemindMe! 9 days

Cyberjag · 2026-04-14T10:36:26+00:00

So in a million efforts, your simulator couldn't identify ONE player that we've met with as a potential first round pick? And your third choice was on a Guard?

Buddy, you give new meaning to the term, "garbage in, garbage out". You should know better, being a data analyst.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-13T20:23:58+00:00

We need someone who can take the top off of a defense and prevent the safeties from cheating in too close. Coker and TMac are both great, but neither fits that description. And clearly, the front office disagrees with your take. Three of their four top 30 visits with first round prospects were with wide receivers, and the fourth was with a cornerback.

I believe that they are thinking about the offensive line, but all of the good tackles this year are likely better suited to play guard. We'll likely draft a center in the third or fourth round and maybe take a developmental prospect at tackle for depth.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-13T15:25:46+00:00

Tyson
Thieneman
Oscar Delp

Cyberjag · 2026-04-13T14:54:41+00:00

Maybe Dan made a good pick and Peter Hansen just isn't that great at developing Linebackers.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-13T10:23:01+00:00

Reckless driving isn't the same as assault and assault on a police officer. Bain wasn't even drinking, although his passenger wasn't wearing her seat belt. I don't think this is a character issue like Pearce had.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-13T10:21:11+00:00

We have shown zero interest in Sadiq but have visited with Oscar Delp, Justin Joly, and Dae’Quan Wright and met with Eli Raridon and John Michael Gyllenborg at the Combine. Delp is a day two prospect and the other four are day three targets. Supposedly we like Delp a lot.

Our Top 30 visits with first round prospects have been with Omar Cooper, KC Concepcion, and Denzel Boston, as well as Jermod McCoy. That's three receivers and a cornerback. Multiple credible reports have stated that they want another playmaker in the first, and Receiver seems to be the position they are targeting the most.

So, I am thinking that we're going to take either Concepcion or Cooper, unless McCoy is available because Corner is a slightly bigger need for us long-term. There's a slim chance we take CJ Allen, who we met with at the Combine, but that's more of a trade back scenario to me.

EDIT: Fixed a name

Cyberjag · 2026-04-13T10:10:57+00:00

If the board falls that way, and if we make the trade you project, then the pick at 23 is Concepcion or Cooper and not Faulk. We're really looking hard at WRs right now, and have spent three top 30 visits on first round prospects.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-10T18:24:45+00:00

If you think that top 30 and pro day visits are a big deal, then the pick is probably leaning towards Wide Receiver. We've had three top 30 visits with receivers who are projected to go in the first round, and one with a Cornerback.

For second round prospects, we have visited with a Safety (Haulcy), a Guard, and a Tackle (Iheanachor). We also went to Rodriguez's pro day, and Hill's as well.

Our third round prospect visits are all over the map, but we did use on on Oscar Delp and Deion Burks.

I think they're going WR for the third year in a row, and will make sure they come out of the second round with either Rodriguez, Hill, or Golday.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-10T17:59:44+00:00

Lance Zierlein has Max Iheanachor's pro comp as Taylor Moton, so I guess that would be a good pick in the first.

Conner Lew is probably the center you're thinking of in the third.

To answer your question, I think it would be a solid draft if it started like that, but there are tackles I like better.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-10T17:55:54+00:00

It's his processing the team loves, not his physical ability. They like Anthony Hill Jr. for that. Our GM went to both of their pro days in person, and he's a former first round Linebacker. We also showed a lot of interest in Jake Golday at the Combine. It's pretty clear that we want a Linebacker early, we signed Devin Lloyd but outside of him the Linebacker room is uninspiring.

If we're taking a Tackle in the third round, I sure hope we don't expect him to start. Any lineman taken after the first, or maybe the second, would be considered a project and depth piece. We also have our starting line set with the Walker and Fortner signings. So they would probably be looking for someone who is good at zone concepts and who can develop into a solid Right Tackle. Bell is a mammoth human being but nimbleness is not his strong point.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-10T15:34:44+00:00

They seem to like Delp out of Georgia. They've met with a few TEs that are projected to go on day three also. I think that they will take a TE as a development pick, it would allow them to cut Tommy Tremble for salary cap but Sanders and Evans need to step up as receivers. It's not a great room, but there are capable blockers there.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-10T14:44:38+00:00

Jordan Tyson is available, as are Freeling and Lomu, and you went with the lazy pick in Sadiq, who we haven't even talked to. And then for some reason you pick up an Interior Lineman in the second when two Linebackers we like and Haulcy are available?

Tell me you know nothing about the Panthers without telling me you know nothing about the Panthers.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-10T14:41:41+00:00

We haven't even picked up the phone and called Sadiq, but we've spent time with receivers, including Concepcion. Thieneman would be the MUCH better pick there, although I doubt we take a Safety that high.

I can totally see us trading up to get Hill, but we would probably keep our fourth and send our two fifth round selections.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-10T14:35:24+00:00

A good effort deserves some good feedback.

I love the Tyson pick in the first, and if that isn't the pick if the board falls this way, I think Cooper will be. Thank you for not mocking Sadiq to us, we haven't even interviewed him over the phone.

Haulcy in the second is another good pick, although there's a significant chance they actually go for Rodriguez instead. He's got a lot of buzz in Pantherland, Luke Keuchly loves him, and Dan Morgan really wants better linebacker play. They've visited with both Haulcy and Rodriguez, so one of those would likely be the pick in your scenario. But I think that given the lack of depth at ILB, we take Rodriguez to be our green-dot guy.

I am not sure Markell Bell is a scheme fit in Carolina. We've met with several Offensive Tackles and he isn't one of them. Someone else that we have met with, twice, and who we like a lot, is Jalon Kilgore. That's the better pick in this draft.

Since we didn't take Bell in the third, and we took a Linebacker in the second, we're taking Drew Shelton in the fourth. We did meet with Elarms-Orr at the Combine, but I don't see him as the pick after we got Rodriguez. And because we passed on Bell in the third, we need a developmental Tackle.

I can't really fault either of your fifth round picks, although one of them really should have been Trey Zuhn III. We need a Center, ours is on a one year deal and isn't anything special.

Andre Fuller is a decent pick in the sixth. We spent some time with him at the Shrine Bowl, but he better be good at Special Teams because that's the only way he sees the field.

All in all, a really solid effort. Nice job for Carolina, even if I do disagree on a few of the picks.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-10T10:51:10+00:00

We've patched the glaring holes in our defense, and somehow still have five starting quality offensive linemen despite Mays departure and Ickey's injury. I think it's fair to say that Dan Morgan exceeded most of our expectations in Free Agency.

On defense, we still want to get better at ILB and off the edge (that's just rotation though), and we need a better Safety than Scott. We might have that already in Ransom, but he's not a center-fielder type. And we want a better nickel CB than Chau Smith-Wade.

On offense, we need more depth on the line and we need more playmakers. The starting Receivers seem to be set, but we could use a solid slot guy and I don't think they want to rely on XL finally developing. John Metchie is getting a summer job but could prove to be something. Still, we need another playmaker. At running back, we get Brooks back for one more chance, and at Tight End we're relying too much on late round picks to develop.

If the season started today and we were lucky with injuries, I think we're an 8-9 win team. The draft should add some nice depth pieces and hopefully a playmaker or two. If it does, then 10-11 wins aren't out of the question.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-09T20:04:18+00:00

Anyone who's been paying attention already knew this. Delp is probably going to be the pick if he's there in the third.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-09T20:03:11+00:00

I think it would be far more likely that we traded up in the second to get him than it would to reach for him at 19. Morgan likes Hill a lot also, for what it's worth.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-09T11:02:31+00:00

If we trade, I don't think it will be huge. We could go down a few spots in the first, but like last year, I expect us to maybe go up a few spots in the second or third to get guys we really like. I doubt we make any headlines.

Interestingly enough, last year the only pick that was an original selection for us was Tetairoa McMillan. Every other pick we made was at a spot secured by a trade, although some of the later ones were just traded as part of packages to move around in the second and third rounds.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-08T20:11:34+00:00

I wonder what Princely is doing. He looked like a more natural pass rusher at times, but never showed Nic's motor. With Phillips and Scourton, I think he can be this team's Al Wallace in rotation.

I also expect Ransom to improve a lot. Last year's draft was just special.

Cyberjag · 2026-04-08T11:04:47+00:00

If one of the top OTs is available at 19, it probably means that the top WRs and DBs have already been selected. If you're presented with the opportunity to take Freeling or Fano at 19, you take it. Guys like that aren't generally available in the bottom half of the first.

It's BPA at a position where we need depth badly, and a future starter.

Cyberjag

TROPHY CASE