Carolina Panthers 7-round mock draft: 3 ways Dave Canales could build around Bryce Young in 2024 NFL Draft

Dave Canales is in an unenviable position as he seeks to turn around the fortunes of the Panthers and their beleaguered quarterback Bryce Young. The second-year starter was picked first overall in last year's NFL Draft in a trade that means they gave up their first-round pick to the Bears. Because Carolina finished with the worst record among all NFL teams last season, it means that what should have been their first overall pick is now with Chicago.

This came about because Bryce Young struggled in his rookie season. Beyond faults with his own play, he did not get any support from the cast around him either. On offense, they finished dead last in the 2023 regular season with just 4,510 total yards. On defense, while they allowed fewer than 300 yards per game and were one of the top-ranked teams in that category, their 24.5 points allowed per game was the fourth-worst.

Dave Canales has a lot to fix if the Panthers are to have any sort of a respectable season and show improvement. What the coach can do will come down mostly to the 2024 NFL Draft. We used Sportskeeda's Mock Draft Simulator to devise three strategies the head coach can take to achieve his objectives.

Panthers 7-round mock draft 1.0: Dave Canales fortifies the defense

Panthers 2024 Mock Draft 1.0

Dave Canales knows that Brye Young is a young quarterback who has to learn a new system and that is going to be a challenge for him. The head coach also cannot depend on his general manager to make smart trades to get a bigger haul than they currently have. In this scenario, he has to play with what he has and he could use this year to fortify the defense.

As mentioned previously, their 293.9 yards allowed per game was the fourth-best in the league last year. That is something they can build on. By drafting a cornerback first, before complementing that with four edge rushers, one linebacker, and one defensive tackle, Dave Canales can ensure they have a young and budding defense that can stifle other teams.

That can allow Bryce Young to play with less pressure as he gets support from the defense and fans know that he was not really given the weapons he needed this year. The Panthers live to fight another season before addressing the offense next year.

Panthers 7-round mock draft 2.0: Bryce Young gets his weapons

Panthers 2024 Mock Draft 2.0

Dave Canales got this job because he did such a fantastic job of resurrecting Baker Mayfield's career last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If that is his remit and Carolina can get some trades going, they could address what Bryce Young needs to succeed.

In this version of the draft, the Panthers get some help on the defense with a safety and an offensive tackle. But overall, the focus is on rebuilding the offense. That starts with the center and adding another offensive tackle later. They also pick three wide receivers whom the quarterback can throw the ball to.

If Bryce Young is not under the kind of pressure last season, when his offensive line did an abysmal job of protecting him, and he has some genuine threats to throw to, he can succeed.

Panthers 7-round mock draft 3.0: Volume of picks increases chance of success

Panthers 2024 Mock Draft 2.0

In this third strategy, Dave Canales needs to tell his general manager that the team has needs all over the place and to accept any trade they can get to increase the number of picks they have this year. In this mock draft, the Panthers end up with nine picks.

They address Bryce Young's receiving needs with the first two picks, choosing a wide receiver and a tight end. Then they get to solidifying the porous offensive line by adding an offensive tackle, before moving to draft an edge rusher on defense. To ensure the highest chance of success, Carolina then picks another offensive tackle, center, and wide receiver in the later rounds, while also adding another edge rusher and a cornerback.