Monday afternoon, the Carolina Panthers announced that they have agreed to terms on a four-year rookie contract with offensive lineman Chandler Zavala. The Panthers took the former NC State lineman with the 114th overall pick (4th round).
"He's a guy that really wanted to be here," said Panthers GM Scott Fitterer following day three of the draft. "He had a really good visit with us. We went back, it's funny, like two years ago, watching tape, where he lines up right next to Ickey [Ekwonu], and they were road grading people, and they're good friends. He's physical. He's smart. He's tough. He's everything that we want on the offensive line. Scouts like him, (offensive line) Coach (James) Campen, (assistant offensive line) Coach (Robert) Kugler like him, and they have strong conviction on him. He's a guy that everybody wanted here. We just had to figure out the value. And then when we took him, guys from across the league were like, wow, like that's a great pick. You could tell he was someone everyone's trying to keep under the radar, but he was a guy people knew about."
Zavala joins fifth-round draft choice DB Jammie Robinson as rookies who have agreed to terms on a deal. QB Bryce Young, LB DJ Johnson, and WR Jonathan Mingo remain in negotiations.
More must-reads: