Panthers Exec: 'If We Want to Keep Our Jobs, We'll Get' Bryce Young Help in NFL Draft

The Carolina Panthers have already had a busy offseason that's focused on helping Bryce Young going into his second season, with that trend likely to continue in the 2024 NFL draft.

A talent evaluator for the Panthers explained to ESPN's Matt Miller they need to keep adding "help" around Young "if we want to keep our jobs."

Head coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan would seem to be safe for awhile since both are entering their first season in those roles, but David Tepper has been a volatile presence since buying the franchise that he might overhaul everything again after the 2024 season if he doesn't like where things are going.

It's normally a bad sign if a personnel staff's entire motivation is job preservation, but the Panthers were such a mess in Young's rookie year that they needed to take drastic action this offseason.

The Panthers spent $256.7 million in free agency to sign 15 players. That was, by far, the most money any team handed out this offseason. The Jacksonville Jaguars were No. 2 with $136.9 million spent on free agents.

The gap between the Panthers and Jaguars does close significantly when you combine free-agent spending and extending players already on the roster. Carolina still leads the pack at $355.5 million, $15 million ahead of Jacksonville ($340.5 million).

Carolina's two largest free-agent contracts were given to guards Robert Hunt (five years, $100 million) and Damien Lewis (four years, $53 million).

This clearly indicates the team wants much better protection around Young after the offensive line ranked in the bottom 10 in pass-block and run-block win rate last season, per ESPN.com.

The Panthers followed up those signings by acquiring Diontae Johnson from the Pittsburgh Steelers to give Young a wide receiver who can actually separate from opposing cornerbacks.

Johnson led all receivers in getting open during the 2022 season, per ESPN's tracking metrics.

Given what the Panthers traded last year to acquire the No. 1 pick from the Chicago Bears, which they used to select Young, their coaching staff and personnel department needs to do everything possible to put him in a position to have success.

The trade required the Panthers to send Chicago wide receiver DJ Moore, their first- and second-round picks last year, a 2024 first-rounder that turned out to be the No. 1 overall pick and a 2025 second-round selection.

Carolina does have two of the first seven picks in the second round (No. 33 and 39) this year to add multiple potential starting options.

Despite the acquisition of Johnson, the Panthers seem likely to target a wide receiver with at least one of those two second-round picks. They could also go after an offensive lineman with the other one to solidify that unit.