The Carolina Panthers joined the National Football League (NFL) in 1995 as the league's 29th franchise. Their first ever selection was Kerry Collins, a quarterback from Penn State, in the 1995 NFL draft. The team's most recent first-round selection (19th pick overall) was Monroe Freeling, an offensive tackle from Georgia, in the 2026 NFL draft.
Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft officially known as "the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" but more commonly known as the NFL Draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl; the Super Bowl champion always picks 32nd, and the Super Bowl loser always picks 31st. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.
The Panthers' have only selected first overall twice, once in 2011 when they selected quarterback Cam Newton out of Auburn, and once in 2023 when they traded up to draft Bryce Young from Alabama. They would have picked first in 2002, however, the inception of the Houston Texans that year allowed Houston to pick first instead of Carolina. Carolina had the first overall pick in their inaugural season, but traded the pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for the 5th and 36th overall selection. The Panthers have twice selected a Miami Hurricanes player in the first round: linebackers Dan Morgan in 2001 and Jon Beason in 2007.
Collins, the team's first ever selection, made the Pro Bowl and led the Panthers to the playoffs in only their second season of existence, but he was later released after struggling on and off the field with alcoholism. Rae Carruth began his career as a promising wide receiver,"He played a remarkable rookie season...", "He was "a fast receiver who could catch and had big-play potential," said Hurney." but he was dropped from the team after being arrested for hiring someone to kill his pregnant girlfriend (he would later be convicted of the crime). Julius Peppers won Rookie of the Year, was named to the Pro Bowl on several occasions, and was the centerpiece of the Panthers' defensive line until signing with the Chicago Bears."On a defensive line that suddenly has emerged as one of the league's best young units... Peppers is the linchpin." Dan Morgan was also a highly touted Pro Bowl linebacker, but repeated concussions had caused him to miss parts of several seasons until the Panthers released him in 2008. The Panthers drafted Jon Beason in 2007 partially to insure their defense against Morgan's absence."Beason gives the Panthers the comfort they need at linebacker, where they can't help but be nervous about Dan Morgan's repeated problems with concussions." Newton threw for 422 yards in his debut game, an NFL record, went on to set several passing records as a rookie, and won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Luke Kuechly led the NFL in tackles his rookie year, and won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award one year after Newton's offensive ROTY.
When the Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars joined the league together in 1995, both teams participated in an expansion draft, where they selected players from 30 existing NFL teams. This list does not include players selected in that draft.
Key § Denotes player who has been selected NFL Most Valuable Player† Denotes player who has been selected AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year or Defensive Player of the Year‡ Denotes player who has been selected AP Offensive or Defensive Rookie of the Year#Denotes player who has been selected to the Pro Bowl with the Panthers Bold Denotes player who is currently active in the NFL
Player selections
YearPickPlayer namePositionCollegeAwards 1995 # QB Penn State *Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-Rookie (1995)*Pro Bowl (1996) CB Fort Valley State *Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-Rookie (1995) OT Texas *Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-Rookie (1995) 1996 RB Michigan 1997 WR Colorado *Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie (1997) 1998 DE Nebraska 1999 —— No Pick (traded to New Orleans) 2000 DB Jackson State 2001 # LB Miami (FL) *Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie (2001)*Pro Bowl (2004) 2002 ‡ # DE North Carolina*Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie (2002)*AP Defensive Rookie of the Year (2002)*5× Pro Bowl (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009)*4× All-Pro (2004, 2006, 2008, 2009) 2003 # OT Utah*Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie (2003)*3× Pro Bowl (2008, 2010, 2013)*All-Pro (2008) 2004 CB Ohio State*Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie (2004) 2005 # LB Georgia*Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year (2014)*3x Pro Bowl (2015, 2016, 2017) 2006 # RB Memphis*Pro Bowl (2009)*All-Pro (2008) 2007 # LB Miami (FL)*Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-Rookie (2007)*3x Pro Bowl (2008, 2009, 2010)*2x All-Pro (2008, 2009) 2008 # RB Oregon *Pro Bowl (2015) OT Pittsburgh 2009— No Pick (traded to Buffalo) 2010— No Pick (traded to San Francisco) 2011 § † ‡ # QB Auburn*Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-Rookie (2011)*AP Offensive Rookie of the Year (2011)*AP Offensive Player of the Year (2015)*NFL Most Valuable Player (2015)*3x Pro Bowl (2011, 2013, 2015)*All-Pro (2015) 2012 † ‡ # LB Boston College*Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-Rookie (2012)*AP Defensive Rookie of the Year (2012)*AP Defensive Player of the Year (2013)*7x Pro Bowl (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)*7x All-Pro (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) 2013 DT Utah*PFWA All-Rookie (2013) 2014 WR Florida State 2015 LB Washington 2016 DT Louisiana Tech 2017 # RB Stanford*Pro Bowl (2019)*2x All-Pro (2018, 2019) 2018 WR Maryland*PFWA All-Rookie (2018) 2019 # DE Florida State*Pro Bowl (2021, 2022) 2020 # DT Auburn*PFWA All-Rookie (2020)*Pro Bowl (2023) 2021 # CB South Carolina*Pro Bowl (2024) 2022 OT NC State 2023 QB Alabama 2024 WR South Carolina 2025 WR Arizona AP Offensive Rookie of the Year (2025) 2026 OTGeorgia
Notes Notes
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