List of Carolina Panthers first-round draft picks

This is a list of first-round draft picks made by the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. The Panthers joined the NFL in 1995 as the league's 29th franchise. [Cite web|url=http://www.panthers.com/Team/Default.aspx?id=758|title=History|accessdate=2007-05-28|publisher=Panthers.com] Their first ever selection was Kerry Collins, a quarterback from Penn State, in the 1995 NFL Draft. The team's most-recent first-round selection was Jeff Otah, an offensive tackle from the University of Pittsburgh, in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Every year during April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft officially known as "the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" but more commonly known as the NFL Draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second worst picking second and so on. The two exceptions to this order are made for teams that appeared in the previous Super Bowl; the Super Bowl champion "always" picks 32nd, and the Super Bowl loser "always" picks 31st. Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades. [cite web|url=http://football.about.com/od/miscinformation/a/detdraftorder.htm| last = Alder | first = James | title = "NFL Draft Basics:Determining Order of Selection" | work = About.com | accessdate=2007-12-01] The Panthers have never had the first overall selection; their highest draft position was second overall in 2002 when they selected Julius Peppers, a defensive end from North Carolina. The Panthers have twice selected a Miami Hurricanes player in the first round: linebacker Dan Morgan in 2001 and Beason in 2007.

Collins, the team's first ever selection, made the Pro Bowl and led the Panthers to the playoffs in only their second season of existence, but he was later released after struggling on and off the field with alcoholism. Rae Carruth began his career as a promising wide receiver, ["He played a remarkable rookie season...", "He was "a fast receiver who could catch and had big-play potential," said Hurney."Cite web|url=http://www.courttv.com/trials/carruth/121400_ctv.html|title=Panther back office testifies for Carruth|accessdate=2007-06-01|publisher=CourtTV.com|year=2000-12-14] but he was dropped from the team after being arrested for hiring someone to kill his pregnant girlfriend (he would later be convicted of the crime). Julius Peppers won Rookie of the Year, has been named to the Pro Bowl on several occasions, and is the centerpiece of the Panthers' defensive line. ["On a defensive line that suddenly has emerged as one of the league's best young units... Peppers is the linchpin."Cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp03/columns/pasquarelli_len/1596555.html|title=Peppers has bulked up, improved footwork|accessdate=2007-05-29|publisher=ESPN.com|year=2003-08-05|author=Len Pasquarelli] Dan Morgan was also a highly touted Pro Bowl linebacker, but repeated concussions had caused him to miss parts of several seasons until the Panthers released him in 2008. The Panthers drafted Jon Beason in 2007 partially to insure their defense against Morgan's absence. ["Beason gives the Panthers the comfort they need at linebacker, where they can't help but be nervous about Dan Morgan's repeated problems with concussions."Cite web|url=http://www.panthers.com/Common/Article.aspx?id=18414|title=What they're saying|accessdate=2007-05-29|publisher=Panthers.com]

When the Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars joined the league together in 1995, both teams participated in an expansion draft, where they selected players from 30 existing NFL teams. [Cite web|url=http://www.panthers.com/Team/Default.aspx?id=806|title=Expansion Draft|accessdate=2007-05-28|publisher=Panthers.com] This list does not include players selected in that draft.

Player selections

-! align="center" | 1999
colspan="4" align="center" valign="middle" | "No first-round draft pick"
[The Panthers traded their first round pick to Washington for defensive end Sean Gilbert.Cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/1999/nfldraft/news/1999/04/18/carolina_wrap/|title=Defense rules in Carolina's 1999 draft|accessdate=2007-06-01|publisher=SportsIllustrated|year=1999-04-18]
-! align="center" | 2000
align="center" | 23
Rashard Anderson
DB
Jackson State
[The Panthers acquired this pick from Miami in exchange for their 1998 2nd round selection (44th overall, used to select Patrick Surtain); the Panthers' original first-round selection had been traded to Washington.]
-! align="center" | 2001
align="center" | 11
Dan Morgan
LB
Miami (FL)
Made the Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie Team, and was later selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 2004 and 2005.
-! align="center" | 2002
align="center"| 2
Julius Peppers
DE
North Carolina
Won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, made several All-Rookie teams, and has been selected to the Pro Bowl in 2005, 2006, and 2007. [Although the Panthers finished the previous season with a league-worst 1-15 record, the Houston Texans were entering the league for the 2002 season and thus took the first selection.]
-! align="center" | 2003
align="center" | 8
Jordan Gross
OT
Utah
Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie Team selection, and Sports Illustrated All-Pro team.
-! align="center" | 2004
align="center" | 28
Chris Gamble
CB
Ohio State
Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie Team selection. [The Panthers obtained this pick from San Francisco in exchange for first-round (31st overall, used to select Rashaun Woods) and fourth-round (127th overall, used to select Richard Seigler) picks.]
-! align="center" | 2005
align="center" |14
Thomas Davis
S
Georgia

-! align="center" | 2006
align="center" | 27
DeAngelo Williams
RB
Memphis

-! align="center" | 2007
align="center" | 25
Jon Beason
LB
Miami (FL)
Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-Rookie Team. [The Panthers acquired this pick, a second-round (59th overall, used to select Ryan Kalil) and fifth-round (164th overall, used to select Tim Shaw selections from the New York Jets in exchange for the Panthers' first-round (14th overall, used to select Darrelle Revis) and sixth-round (191st overall, later traded to Green Bay, used to select Korey Hall) picks.]
-! rowspan="2" align="center" | 2008
align="center"| 13
Jonathan Stewart
RB
Oregon
-
align="center" | 19
Jeff Otah
OT
Pittsburgh
[The Panthers traded their 2008 2nd (43rd overall), 4th (109th overall), and 2009 1st round picks for the Philadelphia Eagles 1st round pick (19th overall)]

Footnotes

References

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