Day 2 NFL Draft Grades for the Carolina Panthers

Feb 25, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas Tech defensive lineman Lee Hunter (DL15) speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The Carolina Panthers left the second day of the 2026 NFL Draft with a mammoth of a defensive tackle/3-4 defensive end in Lee Hunter and a blazing fast wide receiver in Chris Brazzwell. They also, to read the comments section, executed a questionable trade and then reached a bit for their third round selection.

Let’s talk a bit about each player before we slap a pair of way-too-early grades on them. 49. Lee Hunter, defensive tackle, Texas Tech The Panthers were horrible last season at getting off the field on third down.

That their first defender selected in the draft is considered a two-down, run stopping mountain with little in the way of a pass rushing resume caused more than a few of us to scratch our heads. Hunter is going to be an absolute beast against the run next to Derrick Brown. That part of this pick is excellent.

He’ll probably also be a three down player in short yardage situations. But I think the hope for him is to have an impact on the defense even when he isn’t on the field. If he can massively improve the Panthers run defense, in part just by eating up a double team that lets Devin Lloyd roam freely, then the Panthers should see fewer of those easy third and short situations that they couldn’t get out of last year.