Carolina currently holds picks No. 140, 146, and 153 in this year’s draft. Does it matter?
The Carolina Panthers currently hold three fifth-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. By that point in the draft most teams are just scratching lottery tickets, hoping to find a player who can make the 53-man roster, play special teams, and ideally provide some adequate depth.
As I’ve stated in Trade Downs Island’s glorious constitution, few players drafted in Rounds 5-7 go on to have meaningful NFL careers. Sometimes the best thing teams can do with fifth-round picks is use them as trade fodder in this year’s draft, or try to trade them for fourth-round picks next year.
Why am I so down on fifth-round picks? Let’s let the Panthers draft history from 2016 through 2021 tell the story:
2021 – Daviyon Nixon, defensive tackle
Career stats: 14 games, 0 starts, 15 tackles, 0.5 sacks
Nixon’s career lasted just two seasons, both with the Panthers. His rookie campaign was somewhat promising with nine tackles over seven games with half a sack. He played 82 defensive snaps that year, but that dropped to 62 defensive snaps in 2022 before being waived.
Nixon wasn’t on an NFL roster in 2023 but was signed in 2024 by the Miami Dolphins, though he didn’t survive roster cuts. In February 2025 he signed with the UFL’s Arlington Renegades and is currently playing.
2021 – Keith Taylor, cornerback
Career stats: 45 games, 5 starts, 72 tackles, 6 passes defended (still active)
The first two seasons of Keith Taylor’s career were successful for a fifth-round pick. In his first two years with the Panthers he appeared in all 34 games with five starts, recording 67 tackles, six passes defended, and two fumble recoveries. Despite the stats, his 2022 PFF grade of 53.8 ranked just 106th of 122 cornerbacks. The production didn’t keep pace with the opportunity. The Panthers released him after the 2022 season.
He spent 2023 on the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad then made the active roster in 2024. Last year he appeared in 11 games with five tackles, logging 79 defensive snaps and 132 on special teams. He signed last month with the Atlanta Falcons.
2020 – Kenny Robinson Jr., safety
Career stats: 19 games, 1 start, 18 tackles
As with Nixon and Taylor, Kenny Robinson lasted all of two seasons with the Panthers. In his first two campaigns he appeared in 19 games with one start, registering 18 tackles. In all he played 188 defensive snaps and 295 on special teams before being released.
He spent 2023 training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was let go during roster cuts. Robinson has spent the last two seasons with the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions and is currently playing.
2019 – Jordan Scarlett, running back
Career stats: 10 games, 0 starts, 4 rushes, 9 yards; 1 tackle
In his 2019 rookie season Scarlett played eight offensive snaps and carried the ball four times for nine yards. While his offensive impact was limited, he was a special teams mainstay playing 113 snaps and recording one tackle. He landed on the injured reserve as a rookie and was waived after the season.
In 2021 he made the Miami Dolphins 53-man roster and appeared in one game, playing 16 special teams snaps. He then had short stints in the Canadian Football League and USFL.
2018 – Jermaine Carter Jr., linebacker
Career stats: 72 games, 31 starts, 194 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks
While Carter was never a superstar, he had a very successful five-year NFL career for a fifth-round pick. In his four years with the Panthers he appeared in each of the team’s 65 games, starting 30 of them. While mostly a depth piece and special teamer over his first three years, in 2021 he was pressed into a prominent role and started all 17 games, recording 88 tackles. But his PFF grade of 42.6 ranked 72nd of 89 players at his position that year.
After four years with the Panthers, Carter signed in 2022 with the Cleveland Browns practice squad and was eventually promoted to the 53-man roster. He appeared in seven games with 16 tackles with the Browns but was released after the season. He spent two weeks with the Houston Texans in May of 2023 before being released.
2017 – Corn Elder, cornerback
Career stats: 35 games, 1 start, 48 tackles, 4 passes defended
Elder didn’t play in his 2017 rookie season after suffering an injury and landing on the IR. Over the next two years he appeared in 15 games with the Panthers, mostly playing special teams. But in 2020 he cracked the rotation appearing in 16 games with 411 defensive snaps. That year he recorded 40 tackles with three passes defended. He left the Panthers as a free agent after the 2020 season.
In 2021 he joined the Washington Commanders and appeared in five games with five tackles. Elder spent 2022 on the Commanders practice squad. In 2024 he played for the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks and had a sweet 98-yard pick-six. He is currently playing for the Roughnecks and is one of the team’s leading tacklers early in the UFL’s 2025 season.
2016 – Zack Sanchez, cornerback
Career stats: 5 games, 1 start, 9 tackles
Sanchez’s NFL career only lasted one year, his rookie season with the Panthers. After being drafted he was waived during roster cuts in 2016 then signed to Carolina’s practice squad. He made the 53-man roster later in the year and appeared in five games before hitting the IR. Sanchez spent 2017 on the Panthers practice squad then in 2018 signed a reserve/futures contract with the team before being released. He went on to have brief stints in the Alliance of American Football and the CFL.
In summary, many Panthers fifth-round picks go on to have pretty successful careers…in the UFL.
Most of Carolina’s fifth-rounders usually last about two seasons with the Panthers in reserve or special teams roles before getting waived. Hopefully GM Dan Morgan can find a little more value in this year’s draft as he prepares to scratch the team’s three fifth-round lottery tickets.