CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When the Chicago Bears drafted Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III in Round 2 of the 2025 NFL draft, they did so with the final pick the Panthers gave them in the 2023 trade that allowed Carolina to select quarterback Bryce Young No. 1 that year.
Had Young continued to struggle like he did the first year and a half of his NFL career, watching the Bears use that pick might have been painful to accept.
But the improvement he showed during the second half of last season is why mentioning the pick is significant.
While the 2025 draft was expected to be about improving the NFL's worst defense, in many ways it was about Carolina's belief that Young is becoming the franchise quarterback they hoped for -- and why general manager Dan Morgan and coach Dave Canales believe there is light at the end of the tunnel after seven straight losing seasons.
That was evident in the first round, when Carolina selected Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan at No. 8, instead of Georgia edge rusher Jalon Walker -- picked in most mock drafts -- or any other defensive player on their board.
Had Morgan taken a defensive player, it would have felt like the second year of his rebuilding process.
That Morgan went with the best player available on their draft board, one who could help take Young's game to another level, reinforced his conviction that he can build around the 5-foot-10, 205-pound quarterback and win now.
"We wanted to go by the board,'' Morgan said. "I feel like that's when you have your best draft is when you trust your gut, you stick with the board and you take the best player. That's what we did with this draft, and we'll continue to do in the future.
"We feel it worked out really well.''
Grades on Carolina's draft were mixed, in part because Morgan didn't take a defensive player in the first round. He might have gone that route had Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham not gone No. 5 to the Cleveland Browns.
Once that happened, Morgan went with McMillan, who Young knew and lobbied for, and who Morgan and Canales had rated as their top receiver at a position of need.
"We felt like in the second round we weren't going to get a real quality receiver,'' Morgan said. "We knew there was going to be a lot of edge rushers in this draft and we'd be able to capitalize in the second and third round.
"At the end of the day, it worked out well for us to draft a receiver first and then two edge rushers that we think are damn good players.''
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The Panthers traded up in the second round to get Texas A&M edge rusher Nic Scourton, then selected another edge in Mississippi's Princely Umanmielen in the third round.
Morgan never thought he'd get both, which further opened the door to possibly moving on from 32-year-old outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney.
Morgan had conversations with a few teams prior to the draft about trading Clowney, who had 5.5 sacks last season, according to a league source with knowledge of the situation. He left open the possibility during the draft that the team still could move on from the three-time Pro Bowler.
That reinforced his conviction to build for the long haul around young, dynamic players -- something he didn't have the luxury of doing a year ago when he and Canales were scrambling to fill needs in their first season together.
"Just culture-fit guys,'' Canales said of what Carolina got this year. "We got guys that fit our culture and play the style we're looking for.''
But getting two edge rushers didn't begin a run on players to fix a defense that gave up the most points (534) in a season in NFL history and ranked near the bottom of the league in sacks and quarterback pressures.
With the first of two picks in Round 4, Morgan got Georgia running back Trevor Etienne, a player who can help as a returner and reinforce the commitment to the running game that already has two 1,000-yard rushers in Chuba Hubbard and free agent addition Rico Dowdle.
He added tight end Mitchell Evans out of Notre Dame in the fifth round to give Young another big target (6-5, 258) and closed the Panthers' draft with Colorado wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. in the sixth.
Morgan also filled two more needs on defense with Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom in the fourth round and massive Florida defensive tackle Cam Jackson (6-6, 328) in the fifth.
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But this wasn't anywhere close to former coach Matt Rhule's first draft class in 2020, when Carolina used all seven picks on defensive players. The class is balanced with four picks used on each side of the ball.
Morgan was able to do this in large part because he believes in Young and didn't feel the need to fix one side of the ball, as he did with the offense a year ago in free agency and the draft.
Morgan also showed he has grown as a general manager, hiding his interest in upgrading the receiver room by constantly talking about how happy he was with that group during the predraft process.
The first sign of that was the selection of McMillan, who played for Young's high school rival and had a random throwing session with Young prior to the draft.
"Of course I'm going to pick his brain and get his thoughts,'' Morgan said of Young's role on the selection. "Bryce is a big part of this organization, so I'm glad we communicated and got it done.''
Young was excited about the pick. So was McMillan, who was as perplexed as anybody about why Young struggled his first season and a half at Carolina.
"He's been the best player at every level,'' McMillan said of Young's pre-NFL career. "Obviously, these past couple of years he's struggled, and I was surprised. [But] he's one of the best players I've ever seen in my life.
"Towards the end of [last] season, you saw a glimpse of his greatness. And it looks like he's finally got his swagger back, finally got his confidence back. I feel this is the year where Bryce will explode, and I'm happy to be a part of it.''