Panthers trade up to 1st round in Touchdown Wire’s latest mock draft

Although president of football operations and general manager Dan Morgan said he didn’t want to box his team out this weekend, the Carolina Panthers seem rather unlikely to jump back into the first round of the 2024 NFL draft.

But what if they did . . . ?

Well, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon explored that bold strategy in their latest mock—where they have the Panthers moving all the way up to the 19th overall selection. The leap sends this year’s 33rd and 65th picks, as well as a 2025 third-round pick swap, to the Los Angeles Rams.

And at No. 19, Carolina fills a need with pass rusher Laiatu Latu:

The trade up to land the premier pass rusher on the board was not a hard decision for the Panthers, who have to replace Brian Burns and build up a new defense. For the Rams, exiting the first round is tough, but their ability to hit on middle-round picks is enough insurance. Had the Rams stayed, the pick would have been Darius Robinson, who wound up being available for them at No. 33 anyway.

Latu is widely considered to be one of the top three edge defenders in the 2024 class. That’s easy to see why, as the 6-foot-5, 259-pounder recorded 23.5 sacks for UCLA over the past two seasons.