Panthers’ top NFL free agency targets when 2025 offseason begins

When it comes to the 2024 NFL season The Carolina Panthers exceeded expectations.

Of course, the team was still bad, sometimes comically, with damn near every team that mocked Brice Young traded them when Carolina decided to bench him in the middle of the season, but against all odds, Dave Canales‘ team finished with a respectable 5-12 record.

For goodness sake, after looking like a borderline lock for the No. 1 pick before the season started, the Panthers didn’t even finish the year with the worst record in their division, and the New Orleans Saints are also mired in the basement of the NFC South for the next few months as they look to overhaul almost everything.

Now he’s sitting pretty with the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft plus approximately $21.6 million indoors according to Over The Cap, the Panthers have a chance to take another step forward in 2025 if they make the right moves, sign the right players who can help now and draft the kind of talent that can be a staple of the franchise for years to come.

But what should they do and how should they allocate their resources? Granted, they have two of the most important positions in football locked up, with Young turning the corner to look like a true franchise quarterback and Derrick Brown returning as the team’s defensive anchor in 2025. Consider a few other top talents like Chuba Hubbard, Damien Lewis, Ikem Equan and Jaycee Horn, and the Panthers could be a few key players away from being a really fun team to watch in 2025, with playoff potential come 2026, maybe even in January if things fall apart for them .

But first, the Panthers need to find their guy to elevate Young on the way to his NFL potential, who might just be a certain do-it-all receiver with Carolina ties from his time at Clemson: Tee Higgins.

1. Tee Higgins could be Dave Canales’ new Mike Evans

A big reason why Dave Canales turned Baker Mayfield into a $100 million quarterback in Tampa Bay was the presence of perennial 1,000-yard receiver Mike Evans, who made Oklahoma’s pride that much easier for his work. – all games.

Standing 6-foot-5 with long arms, functional deep speed and the ability to be effective in the red zone as an absolute weapon, Evans had one of his best seasons as a pro under Canales, catching 79 of 136 completed passes. way for 1,255 yards and an incredible 13 touchdowns. Evans made it to the Pro Bowl, was named an All-Pro, and finished the season tied with Tyreek Hill of the Dolphins for the most touchdowns in the league under Canales and didn’t look nearly as effective when Liam Cohen called the players for him in 2024. year, although he suffered a number of injuries.

While Canales was brought in to usher Young into the next Mayfield, he was also hired to get production out of a wide receiver corps that featured plenty of high-profile draft picks but no proven players other than 34-year-old Adam Thielen. The former Seahawks wide receivers coach did the best he could with what he was given, but ended up with just one receiver, Thielen, with over 600 yards in just ten games. Xavier Leggett has been up and down, as has Jalen Coker, and Jonathan Mingo, a former second-round pick, finished his season with the Dallas Cowboys, where he was equally impressive in all the worst ways.

Could the Panthers go after another high-profile wide receiver in the draft, someone like Arizona’s Tetairo McMillan? Sure, he should be there around the eighth pick, but does anyone really believe the team will develop him where Mingo and Legette couldn’t? No: If any team should invest in a proven veteran wide receiver, especially one with Evans’ unique skill set, it would be the Panthers, and Higgins checks all those boxes better than any player in free agency.

2. Tee Higgins can push anyone down the depth chart

In 2024, the Panthers were a team without a true VR1, and Young looked to Thielen more often than not when he needed a key play on a key break. While Legette and Coker showed promise as rookies, neither showed enough to warrant being true blue VR1s who could top 1,000 yards on 100 targets in their second seasons.

Enter Higgins, who took over that role in Cincinnati and could look to do it again going forward now that Ja’Marr Chase has established himself as one of the best players in the NFL.

Ending the 2024 NFL season as fifth-ranked wide receiver according to PFF, Higgins played all over the field for the Panthers and did so successfully, including 118 snaps inside and another 517 on the perimeter, either at the line or offset. Although he fell short of 1,000 yards for the third time in his career, Higgins collected 911 in just 12 games with nine starts and was incredibly successful for his team, finishing the season with his second-best rushing yards per game. his career.

Transplanted to the Panthers on a very player-friendly deal, Higgins could play the role that Tylen had as a stabilizing veteran while also being a 26-year-old star in his prime. Higgins’ presence could allow Carolina to reduce Tylen’s role moving forward, “saving” him for cash drops at this stage of his career, while letting Legette and Cooker develop at their own pace without the undue burden of having to produce in a bigger way than them . are ready for. It worked for Jalen Hurts with AJ Brown, Tua Tongaviala with Tyreek Hill, and it could work with Higgins and Young if GM Dan Morgan wants to get aggressive.

3. Ty Higgins and Abdul Carter would be an A+ spring for the Panthers

As with every other team in the NFL, the Panthers need to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the 2025 NFL Draft and address their needs in free agency accordingly to avoid reaching for a player of need when better prospects are still on the horizon. board.

In 2025, the top eight picks should see at least two quarterbacks, Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward, come off the board, early draftee Travis Hunter – who would have been an amazing Panther if they picked top 3 – two offensive tackles in Will Capp and Kelvin Banks Jr., cornerback at Will Johnson, defensive end at Michigan’s Mason Graham, and Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter, in some order. On paper, any of those quarterback picks would be great additions for the Panthers, as would players lower down the board like Georgia’s Jaylon Walker or even Arizona’s McMillian, but which realistic matchup is best?

Carter, that’s definitely Carter.

Finishing his junior season with double-digit sacks, 23.5 tackles for loss and 54 pressures, Carter could immediately enter the NFL as an impact player, just like other top-10 picks Travon Walker, Aiden Hutchenson, Micah Parsons and Kevon Thebideuk before him as he extended the perfect outer foil to Brown’s inner gravity. He’s already used to playing in blue and white, realizing he has a cat for a mascot, and even has a few teammates on the roster, assuming Miles Sanders isn’t released, of course.

Cast him in the Jadevon Clowney role he played in 2024 or keep both, but offseason deals with Carter and Higgins would be A+ stuff.