Panthers GM Dan Morgan should borrow from the Philadelphia Eagles NFL Draft playbook

The Philadelphia Eagles are one of the NFL’s premier franchises. Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie have built a deep 53-man roster that can withstand the attrition of an NFL season, evidenced by their standing as a 6.5 point favorite in this Sunday’s NFC Championship game. 

If Dan Morgan and the Carolina Panthers want to replicate another franchise’s success, Philadelphia boasts an idealistic model to follow. 

When looking at the Eagles’ recent draft history, a clear trend emerges, and it’s one that the Panthers should mirror as they attempt to rebuild their ailing defense in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Four starters on Vic Fangio’s fearsome Eagles defense (Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Jalen Carter, and Nolan Smith) were drafted by Philly out of the University of Georgia in either 2022 or 2023. Roseman and company have made a habit out of selecting former Bulldogs at the top of the draft, a strategy that has paid major dividends for the Eagles. 

Kirby Smart’s Bulldog defense has become an NFL factory. Since winning their first national championship of the decade in 2022, Gerogia has had 17 defensive players drafted to the NFL, among the most of any college program.

When the Carolina Panthers are on the clock with the eighth overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, a trio of Georgia Bulldogs should be available, and if Dan Morgan follows the Philadelphia way, one of them will be donning a Process Blue hat at the end of the night. 

Carolina can’t go wrong with selecting one of Malaki Starks, Jalon Walker or Mykell Williams with the eighth overall pick on draft night. 

Starks is a ball hawking safety who reminds scouts of some of the game’s greatest third-level defenders. He won’t make an oversized impact on Carolina’s league-worst rushing defense, but the Panthers are set to lose five safeties to free agency and their back end could use a talent infusion. 

Williams is a toolsy pass rusher with the size and athleticism that Dan Morgan covets. Williams trhived lining up as both and outside linebacker and as a 3-4 defensive linemen, two positions he’d be asked to play in Ejiro Evero’s scheme. Jadeveon Clowney and DJ Wonnum need another running mate, and Williams would be the ideal protege to the two veterans. 

Lastly, Walker has been compared to a player that once thrived in Bank of America Stadium as a defensive agent of chaos that terrorized opposing offenses: Frankie Luvu. Luvu left Charlotte for greener pastures, an All-Pro berth, and an NFC Championship game appearance with the Commanders, but he was a hell of a player and a fan favorite in Carolina.

Walker’s versatility could be the skeleton key that unlocks a defensive renaissance in Carolina, and although he’s a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type player, we’ve seen what Evero can do with a linebacker who boasts his deep bag of tools like Walker does. 

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