Joe Person of The Athletic gave us a few bonus nuggets in his first Carolina Panthers mock draft of the offseason.
The seven-round projections netted the team nine prospects—including University of Texas defensive lineman Alfred Collins in the second round. Person notes the defense’s need for some added beef in the trenches, and adds that nose tackle Shy Tuttle is a “strong possibility” to be a salary-cap cut this offseason.
Tuttle would be entering the third and final campaign of the three-year, $19.5 million pact he signed in the spring of 2023. The veteran has underwhelmed during his time in Carolina, with Pro Football Focus giving him the two worst overall defensive grades of his six-year NFL career (52.9 and 42.7) over the past couple of seasons.
Person later selects Southern Methodist University running back Brashard Smith in the fifth round while mentioning that Miles Sanders is “another expected cut.”
Sanders, also a signee from the same offseason, inked a four-year, $25.4 million deal with the Panthers. And he too has disappointed, rushing for the second-fewest (432) and fewest yards (205) of his career between 2023 and 2024.