Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Tyler Warren (44) celebrates his touchdown catch against the Boise State Broncos during their Vrbo Fiesta Bowl matchup at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Dec. 31, 2024. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Panthers projected to begin 2025 NFL draft class with 2 Penn State prospects

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Tim Weaver | Last updated Apr 5, 2025 9:30 AM ET

Three weeks from today, we'll be about to enter Day 3 of the 2025 NFL draft. Hopefully by then the Carolina Panthers will have addressed some of their major roster issues. A short list of the position groups that they need to hit includes wide receiver and tight end on offense and edge and safety on defense.

A new five-round mock draft from Chad Reuter at NFL.com has the Panthers nailing two of those spots with their first two picks, adding a pair of highly-touted prospects from the same school. With the eighth overall pick in the draft, Reuter has Carolina taking the number one tight end in this class, Tyler Warren from Penn State.

Warren (6-foot-6, 256 pounds) led the Big Ten last season with 104 catches, posting 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns. That brought his career college totals to 153 catches, 1,839 yards and 19 TDs. Warren qualifies as a massive upgrade over any tight end the Panthers have rostered since injuries began to take their toll on Greg Olsen in 2017.

The next time the Panthers are on the clock is the 57th overall pick in the second round. Reuter's mock has them going back to the well at Penn State, taking safety Kevin Winston Jr. at this spot.

Winston (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) is ranked sixth at his position in this class, trailing ony South Carolina's Nick Emmanwori, Georgia's Malaki Starks, Xavier Watts from Notre Dame and Andrew Mukuba from Texas.

The big selling point for Winston is his run defense, which is stunning for a safety. Winston is also highly-versatile, having lined up all over for Penn State's defense, including deep, in the box, in the slot, at the line of scrimmage and on the boundary.

On the downside, Winston only played two games last season due to an ACL tear, which obviously could affect his draft stock. However, when he was healthy in 2023 he earned an elite 89.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

Warren is a home-run pick any way you slice it. Meanwhile, Winston is a bit of a gamble given the ACL tear, but the Panthers aren't going to seriously improve what was the worst defense of all time unless they take some risks.

Adding Winston to the back end of their defense should give them another serious upgrade over last year's starting combo of Xavier Woods and Jordan Fuller. Paired with Tre'Von Moehrig, they should perform far better than what the Panthers put on tape at safety in 2024.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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