Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Mississippi defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen (DL71) participates in drills during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Panthers' Day 2 pick predicted to land major role in rookie season

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 7:57 AM ET

Tetairoa McMillan is the most obvious rookie who will get a major role with the Carolina Panthers. He has a path to the WR1 position, and he was selected eighth overall while Carolina declined trade offers for that pick. Outside of him, there are a number of rookies who could be huge additions for Carolina.

Nic Scourton, Princely Umanmielen, Mitchell Evans, Jimmy Horn Jr., and Lathan Ransom all project to get decent if not really good playing time this year despite being rookies picked outside round one. Out of all of them, CBS Sports insider Chris Trapasso believes Princely Umanmielen will be the most impactful.

He called Umanmielen much more of an early second-round prospect than where the Panthers ended up selecting him, meaning he fell about 30 picks in Trapasso's eyes. "Two straight seasons of high-level production in the SEC doesn't happen by accident," he said. The insider posited that a surprisingly low weight might've hurt Umanmielen's stock.

However, Trapasso added, "Frankly, I don't care much about how much Umanmielen weighs, because on the field, his speed-to-power conversion was an asset in what was a diverse pass-rushing toolbox at Florida and Ole Miss. The Panthers tied for the third-fewest sacks (32) in 2024, so Umanmielen's capabilities will be utilized in Charlotte right away."

Umanmielen is much more of a pure pass rusher than fellow rookie edge Nic Scourton, who excels at setting the edge on run defense. That gives the Ole Miss pass rusher a leg up, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Umanmielen outperform the player taken a round earlier.

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

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