The worst has no first.
Any NFL team coming off a 2-15 season can typically look forward to the draft. The Panthers don't fall into that category.
After five months of pain, there will be no reward for David Tepper's team, which finds itself in NFL purgatory. Carolina wasn't good enough to compete in 2023, and it don't have the assets to improve in 2024.
After a failed attempt — to this point — to find a franchise quarterback in Bryce Young with last year's No. 1 overall pick, the Panthers are now further away from relevance than ever before.
When the 2024 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, April 25, they'll be left watching on the sidelines for the first night — just like the rest of us.
Here's everything you need to know about the Panthers draft picks in 2024 and why they won't be joining in on the first-round party.
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Panthers draft picks 2024
The best and most successful teams are often built through the draft. With only seven picks and only three in the top 100, Carolina will have their work cut out for them in order to avoid another miserable season.
After trading star edge rusher Brian Burns to the Giants in March, the Panthers were able to add a second round pick and move up 25 spots in the fifth round. While they cashed out on Burns before he was able to cash in, his departure opens up another hole that will need to be filled.
Regardless, this is a total rebuild in Charlotte and acquiring more draft picks is the only way to get out of this bad situation.
Here is where the Panthers will be picking in the 2024 NFL Draft, before any trades shake up the order:
| Round | Pick |
| 2 | 33 |
| 2 | 39 (via Giants) |
| 3 | 65 |
| 4 | 101 |
| 5 | 141 (via Giants) |
| 5 | 142 (via Titans) |
| 7 | 240 (via Steelers) |
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Why don't the Panthers have a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft?
The Panthers aimed to find a solution at the quarterback spot ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. Carolina determined that the answer to the question at the most important position in sports was to trade up to No. 1 and select Alabama QB Bryce Young.
Then-GM Scott Fitterer struck a blockbuster deal with the Chicago Bears, who owned the draft's top selection at the time. The Bears took a king's ransom from the Panthers to make it happen.
Here's how the details of that trade look, one year later:
Panthers receive:
- QB Bryce Young
Bears receive:
- WR D.J. Moore
- OT Darnell Wright
- RB Tyrique Stevenson
- 2024 first-round pick (No. 1)
- 2024 fourth-round pick (No. 122)
- 2025 second-round pick
New Carolina head coach Dave Canales is charged with making sure the Panthers' investment in Young doesn't become a failure. New general manager Dan Morgan will have to do it without a first round pick, only heightening the pressure to transform with league's worst team that also lacks the means to do accomplish that goal.
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Who is using the Panthers' pick?
While Carolina has to hold onto hope that Young rises to stardom in his sophomore year, they'll watch as Chicago's patience likely nets them the services of USC star Caleb Williams.
Whether that works out for the Bears remains to be seen, but there's no doubt that there is plenty of buyer's remorse in the Tar Heel State.