Carolina Panthers draft picks 2021: Round-by-round selections

usa today

Sat, May 1, 2021, 11:51 PM·2 min read

Here is a 2021 NFL draft pick-by-pick breakdown for the Carolina Panthers:

Round 1 (No. 8 overall) - Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina: The first defensive player off the board, the son of former Saints WR Joe Horn becomes the latest defender taken by Carolina, which has yet to draft an offensive player in the Matt Rhule era. Perhaps a more explosive athlete with slightly better ball skills than Alabama counterpart Patrick Surtain II, Horn joins a division where his father starred in at the start of the century. Draft tracker

Round 2 (59, from Browns) - Terrace Marshall, Jr., WR, LSU: The first offensive pick of the Rhule era, Carolina's doctors are apparently comfortable with Marshall's medical flags. If he's healthy, pretty sweet value for a 6-3, 205-pounder who provides QB Sam Darnold with another supplementary downfield option to DJ Moore and Robby Anderson. Of Marshall's 94 grabs over the past two seasons, 23 went for TDs. He reunites with former LSU OC Joe Brady, too. Draft tracker

Round 3 (70, from Eagles) - Brady Christensen, OT, BYU: Zach Wilson's left tackle could get a shot to reprise that role for Darnold by filling one of Carolina's biggest needs. Draft tracker

Round 3 (83, from Bears) - Tommy Tremble, TE, Notre Dame: Another stud off the Fighting Irish tight end assembly line, he addresses a truly deficient aspect of the Carolina lineup. Tremble will block but will also do damage on the hashes. Rhule and Co. have already done more for Darnold than the Jets ever did. Draft tracker

Round 4 (126, from Titans) - Chuba Hubbard, RB, Oklahoma State

Round 5 (158, from Patriots through Texans) - Daviyon Nixon, DT, Iowa

Round 5 (166, from Titans) - Keith Taylor, CB, Washington

Round 6 (193) - Deonte Brown, OG, Alabama

Round 6 (204, from Bears) - Shi Smith, WR, South Carolina

Round 6 (222, compensatory) - Thomas Fletcher, LS, Alabama

Round 7 (232, from Falcons through Dolphins and Titans) - Phil Hoskins, DT, Kentucky

Carolina Panthers' last five top draft picks: