Dan Morgan engineered several draft day trades then selected Xavier Legette in the first round and Jonathon Brooks in the second. Did the strategy pay off?
The Panthers hired Dan Morgan as president of football operations and general manager on January 22, 2024. Morgan is a Panthers “lifer” after spending his seven-year NFL career in Charlotte from 2001 through 2007 then spending years in the Panthers front office. Let’s take a look back on Morgan’s rookie season as GM. We’ve previously evaluated his performance with trades and with free agents.
Let’s now assess Morgan’s 2024 draft day performance. Part One will focus on draft day trades plus first and second round pick picks, while Part Two will focus on players drafted in Rounds 3-7.
Draft day trades
Before evaluating the players the Panthers drafted, we need to look at Carolina’s draft day trades. As long-time Cat Scratch Reader members know, I play the role of Benevolent Dictator of Trade Down Island. My view is the draft is mostly educated guesswork and the more picks a team has, the more likely they are to win the draft over the long term. Here’s the net effect of Dan Morgan’s 2024 draft day trades that only included picks, not players. Picks that were acquired then later traded away are struck through:
Picks Panthers received: No. 32, 46, 52, 72, 155, 157, 200; 2025 2nd round (No. 57)
Picks Panthers gave up: No. 33, 39, 52, 65, 141, 142, 155
These trades please your benevolent dictator!
Dan Morgan manufactured an additional 2025 second round pick (No. 57) without giving up significant value in 2024 or trading away future picks. THAT’S THE WAY WE ROLL ON TRADE DOWN ISLAND!
When it came to the most important picks – those in the Top 75 – Carolina moved up one spot from 33 (first pick in the second round) to No. 32 (last pick in the first round) which gives them a potentially valuable fifth-year option on wide receiver Xavier Legette, whom they drafted at No. 32.
The Panthers moved down seven spots twice, from No. 39 to No. 46 and from No. 65 to No. 72, but sacrificed very little doing so as the quality of players available at those spots is nearly identical. Yes, it hurts a little bit to give up Nos. 141 and 142 for Nos. 157 and 200, but it’s more than worth it for the additional 2025 second round pick.
Draft day trade grade: B+
Draft day performance
It’s a bit of a fool’s errand to evaluate a draft class after just one season because we still don’t know what type of player these guys will be in three or four years, but one season is all the data we have.
When grading draft picks it’s important to measure their performance relative to rookie expectations. My general criteria is that first round picks should be Year 1 starters, second rounders rookies should be regular contributors, third and fourth rounders should yield quality depth, fifth and sixth rounders should be special teamers, and any production from seventh rounders is a borderline miracle.
1st round, No. 32 – WR Xavier Legette
2024 stats: 16 games (13 starts), 49 receptions, 497 yards, 4 TDs
As with many rookie wide receivers, Legette often took two steps forward then one step back as he learned a new system, adapted to a new quarterback, and adjusted to NFL defenses. His 59.3 PFF grade ranked him as No. 90 of 98 wide receivers, which feels pretty harsh, but his seven drops on 84 targets was far too high.
While this isn’t fair to Xavier, it’s human nature to compare him to other wide receivers drafted near him. Legette was one of four consecutive receivers drafted between No. 31 and No. 34, and he was outperformed by the other three. San Francisco’s Ricky Pearsall was selected at No. 31 (one spot ahead of Legette) and had 400 receiving yards in just 11 games. Buffalo’s Keon Coleman, the No. 33 pick, had 556 receiving yards in 13 games for a Super Bowl contender. The Los Angeles Chargers selected Ladd McConkie at No. 34 and he had a stellar season with 82 receptions for 1,149 yards. Only time will tell which of these four receivers goes on to have the best career.
Did Dan Morgan make the right strategic choice by drafting a wide receiver? Yes, he did.
Did Xavier Legette generally meet expectations for wide receiver drafted late in the first round. Again, yes.
But did Dan Morgan draft the right wide receiver given the others that were on the board at the time? That’s still to be determined, but after one season Xavier Legette was slow getting out of the blocks when compared to his rookie peers.
Grade relative to expectations: C-
2nd round, No. 46 – RB Jonathon Brooks
2024 stats: 3 games, 9 carries, 22 yards (2.4 YPC), 3 receptions, 23 yards
I am on the record from before the season started questioning Dan Morgan’s decision to select a running back – any running back – at No. 46. The phrase I used for the Panthers investing a second round pick in a running back was “befuddling”. As a rebuilding team with Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders on the roster, the last thing the Panthers needed was another running back. Carolina had holes all over the roster and would have been better off drafting a player at almost any other position.
The player drafted at No. 47 – one pick right after Brooks – was New York Giants safety Tyler Nubin who started all 13 games he played, recording 98 tackles in his rookie season. At No. 48 the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted defensive tackle Maason Smith who had three sacks in 11 games. At No. 49 the Cincinnati Bengals selected defensive tackle Kris Jenkins who started nine of 15 games with 31 tackles and three sacks. At No. 50 the Washington Commanders drafted cornerback Mike Sainristil who started 16 of 17 games with 93 tackles and 14 passes defended for a team that made it to the NFC Championship game.
Going into the 2024 draft the Panthers need safeties, defensive tackles, and cornerbacks! There were good ones available at No. 46, and Dan Morgan chose to draft a running back.
Compounding the curious strategic decision to select a running back, Morgan drafted Jonathon Brooks who was coming off an ACL tear suffered in college, knowing his rehab would cost him most of his rookie season. Brooks ultimately played three games for the Panthers with nine carries, then tragically tore his ACL again.
Now, if Dan Morgan thought the Panthers needed another running back, he should know this simple truth: Good running backs can be found almost anywhere in the draft!
Just look at some of the running backs taken in the fourth round in 2024.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Bucky Irving at No. 125 and he churned out over 1,500 scrimmage yards. The Buffalo Bills landed Ray Davis and No. 128 and he delivered over 600 scrimmage yards for a Super Bowl contender. The 49ers drafted Isaac Guerendo at No. 129 and he rushed for 420 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, with an additional 152 receiving yards.
Now, I genuinely hope Jonathon Brooks has a successful rehab. I hope he becomes an All-Pro. I hope he proves me wrong that in this case investing a second round pick in a running back was the right strategy, and Brooks was the right player.
I want to be wrong on this one.
Grade relative to expectations: F