CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Former Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer don't get a lot of credit for their short time together in Charlotte, when the Panthers went 11-27, but their first draft was one of the best classes in the 2021 NFL draft.
And it remains a key part of the foundation for the current Panthers roster.
First-round pick Jaycee Horn is the cornerstone of the defense, recently signing a four-year, $100 million extension that made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, until the Houston Texans extended Derek Stingley Jr.
Horn's $25 million average per year is second among all defensive players from the 2021 draft, trailing only the $26 million the New England Patriots gave free agent defensive lineman Milton Williams.
Running back Chuba Hubbard, a fourth-rounder, is the anchor of the offense, and was rewarded with a four-year, $33.2 million extension late last season that made him the 10th-highest-paid running back in the league.
Do-it-all offensive lineman Brady Christensen (third-rounder) recently got a one-year, $2.8 million deal to re-sign, and tight end Tommy Tremble (third-rounder) got a two-year, $16 million deal.
That's four of Carolina's top five picks in 2021 who are playing significant roles. Comparing the 2024 production from players selected in Rounds 1-4 of the 2021 NFL draft, according to ESPN Research, the Panthers:
Combined for 47 starts, tied with the Miami Dolphins for third most (Detroit Lions, 64, and Jacksonville Jaguars, 59)
Combined for 59 games played, fifth most
Combined for 2,651 total plays, seventh most
Had three players start at least 10 games, third most (Lions, Jaguars 11)
It's the kind of production general manager Dan Morgan, the assistant GM in '21, wants to find in the 2025 draft as he attempts to turn around an organization that's had seven straight losing seasons.
"We're just a resilient group,'' Horn said. "We're all workers. ... All of us just stayed consistent, kept our head down, and it paid off for sure.''
Morgan calls them "dawgs,'' representing the mentality he talked about repeatedly last season in his first year as GM.
"We're going to build this thing the right way, through the draft,'' he said at the 2025 NFL combine.
Morgan saw that work when he was a middle linebacker with Carolina from 2001 to 2007. He was part of the 2001 draft class that included three key players -- Morgan, who went No. 11 overall, second-round pick Kris Jenkins Jr. (DT) and third-round pick Steve Smith Sr. (WR) -- who were the foundation of the 2003 run to the Super Bowl two years removed from having an NFL-worst 1-15 record.
The key was Carolina followed that draft with a 2002 class that included Hall of Fame edge rusher Julius Peppers and quality running back Deshaun Foster, and a 2003 class that included future three-time Pro Bowl tackle Jordan Gross.
Carolina's next two classes after 2021 have produced only two significant starters, left tackle Ikem Ekwonu (sixth overall, 2022) and quarterback Bryce Young (first overall, 2023). And Young has won only six of 28 games as the starter despite a strong finish to last season (2-1).
It's too soon to say how the 2024 class will be judged, with first-round receiver Xavier Legette (49 catches, 497 yards, 4 TDs) and fourth-round tight end Ja'Tavian Sanders (33 catches, 342 yards, 1 TD) the most significant contributors.
That makes the success of the 2021 class even more significant as a building block for the future.
It's something Tremble takes pride in.
"If it was a smooth ride, no one would have learned something from it,'' he said. "So having guys that know what adversity is, and proving not only to the coaching staff here but to the whole team that, 'Hey, if these guys can work through the hard stuff, you can trust them that they're going to continue to build.' ''
The only miss among the top five picks in 2021 was wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., a second-rounder out of LSU. He was selected in large part because offensive coordinator Joe Brady coached the 6-foot-2, 200-pound receiver during LSU's run to the 2019 national championship.
Marshall never emerged the way star receivers Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase did from that team. He was released after training camp last season and wound up with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he had three catches for 41 yards.
Carolina's selections in Rounds 5 to Round 7 also didn't stick. Three are playing in the USFL.
But Horn, Christensen, Tremble and Hubbard made up for that, surviving two head coaching changes and a general manager change.
"You wonder what would have happened had there been some stability,'' one league source with knowledge of the situation said. "There was just so much chaos going on. It's nice to see them get settled a little bit.''
Tremble agreed, acknowledging the 2021 class was made stronger by the chaos.
"That's an awesome summary of what our draft class is,'' he said. "Guys who no matter what's coming, they're building every single day to get better.''