Panthers find new target for Young, trade up for an edge rusher on 2nd day of NFL Draft

The Carolina Panthers found rookie quarterback Bryce Young another target and then traded up in an attempt to improve their pass rush on the second day of the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Panthers picked Mississippi wide receiver Jonathan Mingo in the second round at No. 39 overall Friday night, then traded away picks No. 93 and No. 132 to move up to No. 80 and pick Oregon outside linebacker DJ Johnson in the third round.

“Size, speed, elite ball skills ... he really checks a lot of boxes for us in a lot of ways,” Panthers coach Frank Reich said of Mingo.

Of Johnson, Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said: “This is a 6-4, 260-pound guy that ran 4.4 (in the 40-yard dash). He’s got rare traits. ... His upside is huge. This guy could be a force off the edge.”

While Mingo’s college production was solid at Ole Miss, Johnson’s wasn’t as good in a lengthy college career. Johnson began his collegiate career at Miami in 2017 and finished at Oregon in 2022. For a while, he was converted to tight end, but that didn’t stick. At age 24, he’s only six months younger than Carolina’s star pass rusher Brian Burns, who is about to enter his fifth NFL season.

Still, the Panthers believed they were a bit short-handed on pass rushers and, when they saw them starting to come off the draft board, thought they needed to do something rather than wait their turn at No. 93.

Said Fitterer of the trade to get Johnson, which left the Panthers with only two Day 3 picks Saturday unless they acquire more via another trade: “There was like a run on pass rushers when you get in that third round. And if you don’t go up and get a pass rusher at that point, there’s really not much left. ... You can argue it both ways but I think we did the right thing based on our board and based on our team. We went up, were aggressive and did that.”

Mingo said he was familiar with Young, who had beaten him more than once in SEC matchups when Alabama played Mississippi.

“He’s a game-changer,” Mingo said of Young. “Playing against Bryce, I’m happy to be on the same team as him. ... One thing about Bryce Young, he doesn’t make mistakes. He’s very poised, he doesn’t get rattled, he takes each game play by play, takes his time. He’s a smart kid.”

Mingo was also a college teammate of Matt Corral, currently the third-string quarterback on the Panthes roster behind veteran Andy Dalton and Young.

Reich said Mingo can be moved around at various spots on the offense.

“We just see him as a really good scheme fit,” Reich said. “When a guy has elite ball skills and you have a super-accurate passer like we do, that’s just a really good combination. Just get it near him. He’s got strong hands to the ball, and he’ll be a great target for Bryce.”

This story was originally published April 29, 2023 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Panthers find new target for Young, trade up for an edge rusher on 2nd day of NFL Draft."

Scott Fowler

The Charlotte Observer

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Columnist Scott Fowler has written for The Charlotte Observer since 1994 and has earned 26 APSE awards for his sportswriting. He hosted The Observer’s podcast “Carruth,” which Sports Illustrated once named “Podcast of the Year.” Fowler also conceived and hosted the online series and podcast “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” which featured 1-on-1 interviews with NC and SC sports icons and was turned into a book. He occasionally writes about non-sports subjects, such as the 5-part series “9/11/74,” which chronicled the forgotten plane crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 in Charlotte on Sept. 11, 1974. Support my work with a digital subscription