The 5 best (and worst) draft picks in Carolina Panthers history

Jeremy Vernon

•
The 5 best (and worst) draft picks in Carolina Panthers history image

Since joining the league in 1995, the Carolina Panthers have made over 200 picks in the NFL Draft, but which selections stand out above the rest?

Like most teams in the league, Carolina has a mixed history when it comes to the draft. For every hit, there has been at least one miss. And with only a few days remaining until the start of the 2024 draft, what better time than now to highlight a few of the best — and the worst — picks in franchise history?

Several criteria were taken into account when considering selections, including number of seasons with the Panthers, career stats and off-field impact.

This year's NFL Draft kicks off from Detroit on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. Carolina doesn't own a selection until No. 33 overall, the first pick of the second round. 

SN's NFL DRAFT HQ
Live picks tracker | 7-round mock draft | Top 250 big board

5 BEST

5. Thomas Davis (2005 Round 1, Pick 14)

A literal embodiment of the Panthers' "Keep Pounding" slogan, Thomas Davis battled back from an injury-riddled beginning of his career to become one of the most beloved Carolina players of all time.

Davis tore the ACL in his right knee three times in three years from 2009-11, but he returned to the field in 2012 alongside rookie Luke Kuechly and looked like an entirely new player.

From 2012 to his retirement in 2020, Davis played 128 games for the Panthers, totaling 537 solo tackles, 18.0 sacks, 33 passes defensed, 10 interceptions and 10 forced fumbles. He was named the AP Comeback Player of the Year in 2013 and was a Pro Bowler in three straight seasons from 2015-17.

In 2015, Davis was named first-team All-Pro after totaling 105 tackles, four interceptions, four forced fumbles and 5.5 sacks. He played in Super Bowl 50 for Carolina despite breaking his arm two weeks prior in the NFC Championship game against Arizona.

4. Luke Kuechly (2012, Round 1, Pick 9)

Davis' running mate in the middle of the defense for eight seasons, Kuechly was thought by some to be a reach when Carolina took him No. 9 overall in 2012. Instead, the Panthers got one of the best linebackers of the 2000s.

Kuechly was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 and followed that up by winning the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award in 2013. Over his eight-year career, Kuechly made the Pro Bowl seven times and was a first-team All-Pro selection five times.

While he had to retire early because of concussion concerns, Kuechly was a scout for Carolina for one season and now spends his time coaching youth football with former Panthers' tight end Greg Olsen and occasionally showing up on Carolina radio broadcasts.

To this day, Kuechly holds Carolina franchise records for career tackles (1,092) and tackles in a game (24). He also ranks in the top five in passes defensed (66), interceptions (18) and tackles for loss (75.0) 

3. Julius Peppers (2002 Round 1, Pick 2)

Despite having the worst record in the league (1-15) in 2001, Carolina did not receive the No. 1 overall pick in the following year's NFL Draft. That honor belonged to the new expansion team Houston Texans, who wound up taking QB David Carr with the top spot.

Houston's decision couldn't have worked out any better for the Panthers, who had a home-state hero in Julius Peppers fall right into their laps at No. 2. More than 20 years after he was selected, Peppers is the only drafted player in Carolina franchise history to earn an invite to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A football and basketball star at North Carolina and a native of Wilson, N.C., Peppers won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2002 after racking up 12 sacks in his first pro season. He ended up hitting double-digit sacks in four of his first five seasons and 10 times across his 17-year career.

Peppers left Carolina in free agency in 2008 and played the next seven seasons for Chicago and Green Bay, but he returned to the Panthers in 2017 to play two more seasons, racking up another 16 sacks in the process.

Peppers ended his career ranked fourth in NFL history with 159.5 sacks. In fact, three of the top four players in league history in sacks — Peppers, Kevin Greene and Reggie White — all played for the Panthers at one point during their careers. 

2. Cam Newton (2011 Round 1, Pick 1)

Outside of the 2023 NFL Draft, Carolina has only had the No. 1 selection one other time. This was in 2011, when the Panthers hit an absolute home run by taking Auburn QB Cam Newton with the top selection.

It was clear to see from the start that Newton was a special talent. In his first career NFL game, he became the first rookie quarterback to throw for 400 yards in his debut. He threw for over 400 yards again the next week and finished the 2011 season as the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Newton continued to confound defenses with his blend of arm strength and running power for the next several seasons until 2015, when he put up the best year by any quarterback in Carolina's franchise history.

In 2015, Newton led the Panthers to a 15-1 regular season record while throwing for 3,637 yards and 35 touchdowns and running for 636 yards and another 10 scores. He was named the league's Most Valuable Player that season and is the only Panthers' player to ever win the honor.

Newton, who owns pretty much every Carolina passing and rushing record, might have taken the top spot on this list if not for an injury-riddled second half of his career. Things were never the same after an infamous hit to the shoulder from T.J. Watt in a Thursday night game in 2016.

He was waived by the Panthers after the 2019 season and started 15 games with New England in 2020. Newton did return to Carolina in 2021, however, and played in eight games that season.

1. Steve Smith (2001 Round 3, Pick 74)

A merchant of highlight touchdowns and equally impressive touchdown dances, Steve Smith wasn't always expected to be the alpha receiver he turned into when he entered the league.

Smith was chosen at No. 74 overall in the 2001 draft out of Utah and spent most of his first year returning kicks and punts, but it was clear that there was something more there. Smith's first touch in 2001 turned into a 93-yard touchdown on a kick return against the Minnesota Vikings.

The 2002 season saw Smith earn his spot as a starter on offense, and the rest is pretty much history. Over the next 15 years, he totaled at least 1,000 receiving yards eight separate times. He also won the receiving triple crown in 2005 after leading the league in catches (103), receiving yards (1,563) and receiving touchdowns (12).

Some of the biggest highlights of Smith's career came during the playoffs. Playing in the NFC Divisional Round against the St. Louis Rams in 2004, Smith caught a 69-yard game-winning touchdown on the first play of double overtime.

In that year's Super Bowl loss to New England, Smith caught Carolina's first touchdown on a 39-yard pass from Jake Delhomme in the second quarter.

Two years later, Smith almost single-handedly demolished the Chicago Bears in the Divisional Round — racking up 12 catches for 218 yards and two touchdowns in a 29-21 win.

As of right now, Smith is eighth among all NFL receivers in career receiving yards with 14,731. He has as good a chance as anyone to be Carolina's next Hall-of-Famer.   

5 WORST

5. WR Armanti Edwards (2010 Round 3, Pick 89)

Top-100 picks in the NFL Draft are highly sought-after commodities, which makes Carolina's selection of Armanti Edwards with the 89th overall pick in 2010 all the more confusing.

Edwards starred for four years as a quarterback at Appalachian State, but he switched positions to receiver during the leadup to the draft despite not playing a snap there in college. Carolina was praised at the time of the selection for giving Edwards — who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this year — a chance, but it was a poor, poor decision in hindsight.

Edwards played in 39 games for the Panthers across four seasons but only had five catches for 121 yards while suiting up for the team. He was Carolina's primary kick-returner for a few seasons, but he never really made a big impact on special teams, either. 

4. QB Jimmy Clausen (2010 Round 2, Pick 48)

The 2010 Draft might be Carolina's worst of all time, as their top two selections both found their way onto this list. Taken before Edwards, Clausen was the Panthers first pick in 2010 when they took him at No. 48 overall in the second round.

The Panthers figured Clausen would challenge Matt Moore for the starting job, and he did play in 13 games as a rookie, but he had a 1-9 record in those games and finished the season with 1,558 passing yards, three touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Clausen never got the chance to start again after the 2010 season, as Carolina took Newton at No. 1 overall in 2011. Clausen did not play a snap in the NFL from 2011-13 before featuring in four games for the Chicago Bears in 2014.

The former Notre Dame quarterback was out of the league by the end of the 2015 season and owns the honor as one of the most forgettable selections in Carolina's entire draft history.

3. CB Rashard Anderson (2000 Round 1, Pick 23)

A star for Jackson State in the late 1990s, corner Rashard Anderson was the Panthers' first selection of the new millennium at No. 23 overall in the 2000 NFL Draft.

Anderson only played in 12 games as a rookie, but things looked promising after he started nine times in 2001 — defending five passes, grabbing an interception and returning a fumble for a touchdown — but his career was hampered from then on by off-the-field issues.

The following May, Anderson was suspended for the entire 2002 season by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy, and the suspension was extended throughout 2003 after he failed to reach the conditions for reinstatement. 

Following his suspension, Anderson never played a down of professional football again. He died in 2022 at just 45 years old. 

2. DE Everette Brown (2009 Round 2, Pick 43)

The reason the Panthers' selection of Brown is this high is because it also directly caused a few other picks in this list.

Carolina entered the 2009 draft without a first-round pick after picking twice in the top 20 the previous season. The Panthers were scheduled to make their first choice at Pick 59, but they couldn't help but jump up for a player they liked when he fell into the 40s.

To get Pick 43 and take Brown, a defensive end who played collegiately at Florida State, Carolina traded its 2010 first-round pick to San Francisco, a selection that wound up being No. 17 overall.

After watching former quarterback Jake Delhomme's career implode during the 2009 season, the Panthers ended up using their first pick of the 2020 draft on Clausen and their next pick on Edwards.

To make matters worse, Brown started just three games for the Panthers across two seasons and had six total sacks. The Panthers waived him before the 2011 season. 

Brown did eventually come back to Carolina as a linebackers coach in 2019.

1. WR Rae Carruth (1997 Round 1, Pick 27)

Those who know Rae Carruth's story would hardly argue against him being at the top (or bottom) of this list. While most of the players listed above were disappointments on the field, Carruth ended his career by committing a heinous crime off of it.

In November 1999, Carruth's girlfriend — Cherica Adams — was gunned down in his Charlotte home by Van Watkins. At trial, Carruth was convicted of conspiring with Watkins to murder Adams, who was pregnant with Carruth's unborn child at the time of her death.

The baby, Chancellor Lee Adams, suffered brain damage from the incident that caused him to develop cerebral palsy. In the years since, Chancellor has grown up to graduate high school and be an inspiration for others.

Carruth played 22 games at receiver for the Panthers across three seasons before his arrest, totaling 62 catches, 804 yards and four touchdowns after being taken No. 27 overall in 1997 out of Colorado. He was eventually released from prison in October 2018 after spending almost 18 years locked away.

Jeremy Vernon

Jeremy Vernon Photo

Jeremy Vernon is a reporter and editor from Greensboro, North Carolina, with a decade of experience in the industry. His previous stops include MLB.com and two local papers in N.C. — the Monroe Enquirer-Journal and the Chatham News + Record. When he isn’t working, you can likely find Jeremy at the dog park with his two-year old lab mix, Summer.