2025 NFL DRAFT:
Pro Football Focus Gives Panthers An A-Plus,
While Other Evaluators Offer B-Minus, C-Plus
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(posted April 27, 2025)
Pro Football Focus, a media outlet that evaluates every major college football player based on extensive video review of game action, gave the Carolina Panthers’ 2025 NFL draft picks an overall grade of A-plus. Other reviewers weren’t nearly as positive in their assessments of the selections by Panthers general manager Dan Morgan and his staff.
Below is the complete list of the Panthers’ 2025 selections, followed by a sampling of the letter grades offered by PFF, veteran ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. and several others in the aftermath of this week’s three-day draft.
Round 1 (#8): WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona (All-American, 1st-team All-Big 12)
Round 6 (#208): WR Jimmy Horn Jr., Colorado (1st-team All-AAC at USF in 2022)
Pro Football Focus staff, PFF.com (Grade = A-plus)
McMillan — The Panthers continue to build around Bryce Young, who led the NFL in big-time throws from Week Eight through the end of the regular season. Now he has another downfield target. McMillan has been one of the most productive receivers in college football over the past two seasons, ranking in the 85th percentile or better among qualifying NCAA wideouts in receiving grade versus single coverage, yards per route run and contested-catch rate.
Scourton — The Panthers trade up the board for an opportunity to add much-needed firepower on the defensive side of the ball. Scourton, the 29th-ranked player on the PFF Big Board, has an alluring combination of size and pass-rush moves, as well as the versatility to play in 3-4 or 4-3 fronts. Over the past two seasons, his 91.7 PFF pass-rush grade against true pass sets charted in the 94th percentile.
Umanmielen — The Panthers moved up to target some pass-rush help with the selection of Umanmielen. The Ole Miss product was the #50 overall player on the PFF Big Board, and his 91.1 PFF grade ranked sixth among players at the position in 2024.
Etienne — At 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds, Trevor Etienne, brother of Jaguars running back Travis Etienne, is stoutly built, and that showed on tape, as he forced 30 missed tackles on 126 rushing attempts. Despite missing time throughout various points of the season, Etienne still managed to rush for nine touchdowns while putting the ball on the ground only once. With Chuba Hubbard’s emergence this past season, Etienne provides Carolina with a power back who can spell him in short-yardage situations.
Ransom — Carolina continues to address areas of need on its defense by selecting Ransom, after already adding a couple of edge defenders in previous rounds. The Panthers ranked 31st last season in explosive pass percentage allowed at 17.6% overall and now add to their secondary.
Jackson — Ranked #130 on the PFF Big Board, Jackson is a massive presence who can control the point of attack against the run. He posted an 80.9 run-defense grade last season, along with a 9.3% run-stop rate.
Evans — Evans dominated defenders with the ball in the air in 2024, posting an impressive 72.7% contested-catch rate.
Horn — Horn earned a 65.1 receiving grade last season, while averaging 11.9 yards per reception.
Danny Kelly, TheRinger.com (Grade = A)
I loved what the Panthers did on the first two days of the draft.
With their first pick, they added a big-time playmaker and massive target for quarterback Bryce Young, selecting Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan at #8 overall. McMillan gives the team a go-to guy who can line up all over the formation and dominate in high-leverage situations.
Carolina turned around in the second and third rounds and buttressed its talent-deficient defensive front, adding a pair of edge rushers in Texas A&M’s Nic Scourton and Ole Miss’s Princely Umanmielen. That duo adds some much-needed beef to the defensive line, and both should feature prominently in the edge rusher rotation early on.
On Day Three, Carolina bolstered its running backs group with a quality pass catcher in Georgia’s Trevor Etienne, then grabbed Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans later on.
Overall, I thought the Panthers did a good job in adding immediate contributors, and these picks should pay dividends on both sides of the ball.
Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com (Grade = B-minus)
Best Pick: I love fourth-round safety Lathan Ransom from Ohio State. He is a thumper in the run game and a guy who made a lot of plays for a good Buckeyes defense.
Worst Pick: I didn’t really like the pick of Ole Miss edge Princely Umanmielen in the third. He has skills, but he isn’t great against the run, and he needs to get stronger.
The Skinny: They clearly wanted to get a weapon for Bryce Young and some edge help, which they did with their second- and third-round picks. They took receiver Tet McMillan in the first, which will help Young, but I worry about his separation speed. The two pass rushers — Nic Scourton (second) and Umanmielen — have talent, but they didn’t always play to it. Tight end Mitch Evans in the fifth could be a nice pick.
Chad Reuter, NFL.com (Grade = B-minus)
McMillan could be a threat in the mold of (Atlanta Falcons wide receiver) Drake London, but Carolina might have been better served by drafting one of the top tight ends (Colston Loveland, Tyler Warren) or defensive players (Jalon Walker) at #8. The Panthers doubled up on pass rushers Scourton and Umanmielen on Day Two. They could have improved the secondary with one of those picks, though, and found another edge defender on Saturday.
Carolina used the fourth-round pick it received from Dallas in the Jonathan Mingo trade to select Etienne. That decision stood out, since the team rewarded Chuba Hubbard with an extension last year, signed Rico Dowdle in free agency and spent a top-50 pick on Jonathon Brooks, who is recovering from his second ACL tear in as many years, in 2024. Ransom’s downhill play should get him on the field for the Panthers quickly, as will the size and surprising agility of run-stopper Jackson. I expect Evans to thrive early in his career in 12 personnel.
Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN.com (Grade = C-plus)
In all four mock drafts I did for this class, I projected Carolina to take Jalon Walker at #8. It’s never that easy, though, right?
The Panthers went a different route, adding receiver Tetairoa McMillan. At 6-foot-4, he brings in just about anything thrown in his direction, including contested catches. Quarterback Bryce Young will throw the ball up to him in the red zone and walk away with a touchdown more often than not. Think Drake London in Atlanta. McMillan doesn’t generate much separation, though, which could be an issue against NFL corners. It’s part of the reason I had him ranked 19th. Even so, there are some good, young receivers in this locker room now, with McMillan, Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker. (Carolina also added Jimmy Horn Jr. in the sixth round.)
The defenders came on Day Two, though. Good thing. Here’s a sampling of the categories in which Carolina’s defense ranked last in the league in 2024: points allowed per game (31.4), rushing yards allowed per game (179.8), total yards allowed per game (404.5), QBR allowed (64.8), yards per play allowed (6.0), first downs allowed per game (24.5), opponents’ third-down conversion percentage (50.2%) and run-stop win rate (25%).
Nic Scourton spent some time in my top 25 during the season, but I ended up ranking him 58th. He closes well on the QB, but his sack count fell from 10 to five in 2024. I like his run-stopping traits, though. Don’t sleep on his impact there. Princely Umanmielen was the other second-day selection, and he will push quarterbacks off their spots. His 17.9% pressure rate ranked fourth in the country last season.
I’m surprised GM Dan Morgan, a former linebacker, didn’t do anything at the second level, but defensive tackle Cam Jackson in Round Five and safety Lathan Ransom will give defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero some more depth to work with.
