Poring over the recent spate of team-produced, behind-the-scenes looks at the 2025 NFL Draft has been quite informative. The most recent edition of the Carolina Panthers’ in-house “Panthers Blueprint” showed how close the team was to making a blockbuster trade while on the clock in April.
The Panthers were set on taking Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with the No. 8 pick, but the Los Angeles Rams were also very interested in McMillian.
Los Angeles offered the No. 26 overall pick, a 2026 second-round pick, and two other picks. Based on the video and the comments from Panthers VP Brandt Tilis, the deal was a near-match for the common NFL draft trade charts.
As noted earlier in the piece, the Panthers worked on the assumption that the player they wanted at No. 8 would not be available even if they tried to trade back up. GM Dan Morgan said of trading out, “It has to be above and beyond. We’re not just going to give it away.”
That was true in this case, and they stood pat and took their guy in McMillan. As soon as the Rams rejected Tilis’ counteroffer, Morgan immediately drafted McMillan.
Overall, the entire episode is one of the most revelatory in terms of showing the Panthers’ thought process behind deciding on McMillan as their guy and also how much they weighed other options, including the potential trade offer from the Rams. Morgan’s smiling admission that his favorite part of the draft is “seeing if your predictions (for when players will be drafted) are as good as you thought.” Mock drafters everywhere can feel that kinship with the Panthers GM.
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