The 5 Carolina Panthers Sure to Surge in 2026

In 2024, Morgan swung a deal for Mike Jackson, a journeyman cornerback who had entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2019. Jackson didn’t see much playing time in his first three NFL seasons, but hasn’t missed a game the past four years.

He’s really found his niche with the Panthers. In a combined 35 starts (including playoffs) with Canales’s squad, he’s totaled seven interceptions—including a pick-six of Matthew Stafford in last season’s regular-season win over the Rams (Week 13) and 40 passes defensed.

Jackson may be on the verge of Pro Bowl honors.

4. DT Lee Hunter

The 2024 Panthers were lowlighted by an abysmal run defense, allowing a distressing 179.8 yards per game on the ground. They were better this past season (123.3), mainly because standout Derrick Brown was healthy (he missed all but 1 game in 2024).

Morgan made a bit of a move on Day 2 to grab Lee Hunter, the massive 6’3 1/2”, 318-pound Texas Tech defender. “Hunter projects as an early down space-eater who can make interior offensive linemen work for their gaps,” said NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein pre-draft.

He and Brown will team up to wreak havoc in the trenches.

3. WR Tetairoa McMillan

A year before the arrival of the University of Arizona product, 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette led Carolina with 49 catches, and veteran Adam Thielen totaled team highs with 615 receiving yards and five TD grabs. Tetairoa McMilla, the eighth overall pick in the 2025 draft became the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year with 70 receptions, good for 1,014 yards and seven scores.

After reaching the end zone just twice in his first 10 outings, McMillan scored five TDs in the team’s final seven regular-season games.

The best is be yet to come for the imposing 6’5”, 212-pound target.

2. OLB Nic Scourton

Pass and rush are obviously a pair of four-letter words, and that’s just what it’s been for these Panthers in recent years. No team in the league has amassed fewer sacks in the league (89) since 2023.

This is where OLB Nic Scourton will be impactful. Last season DC Ejiro Evero’s defense finished with a mere 30 sacks, with Scourton (a second-round pick in 2025) and Derrick Brown tying for the team lead (5.0). But Scourton showed improvement throughout the season, with all five of Scourton’s QB traps came in the final 11 games of the regular season.

Scourton will benefit greatly from the smart free-agent additions of 2025 Pro Bowler Devin Lloyd and more specifically, edge rusher Jaelan Phillips.

Expect Scourton to push toward double digit sacks in 2026.

1. WR Jalen Coker

WR Jalen Coker, the former Holy Cross standout, was an undrafted free agent in 2024 who has played in exactly 11 regular-season games in each of his first two seasons. Coker missed the first six weeks of ’25 due to a quadriceps injury, but once he warmed up, he was a huge factor down the stretch, and shined in the playoffs vs. the Rams.

Including that clash with Sean McVay’s club, Coker was targeted 36 times by Bryce Young and totaled 28 receptions (77.8 catch percentage) for 378 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 13.5 yards per catch.

Coker has moved well beyond UDFA status, having just inked a three-year, $35 million contract extension.

The Panthers expect big things from this emerging wideout.