NFL Draft Day 2 Recap: Panthers make three trades, Payton Wilson to the Steelers

By Clark Gerber, WRAL Sports Contributor

There's always a lot going on at the NFL Draft. And since it's a busy night elsewhere in the sports world, you might miss some of the best moments on the live broadcast.

Not to worry!

Below is a running diary of the Friday (and Thursday) highlights:

Round 3

Payton Wilson heads to Pittsburgh

If you're a linebacker, there are few better NFL destinations than Pittsburgh.

The Steelers have a long history of developing stars on defense, and Wilson could be the next one after being drafted 98th overall.

The NC State star won both the Bednarik and Butkus awards this past season as the best defensive player in the nation. He racked up an absurd 136 tackles in 2023, with 6 sacks, 3 interceptions and a touchdown.

So why did he fall to the end of the third round?

That answer is actually pretty simple. Wilson has a long injury history already and plays a non-premium position in off-ball linebacker.

That doesn't mean he won't be an impact player though. If he can stay healthy, expect him to contribute right away.

Bills draft Duke DT DeWayne Carter

Carter was a 3-time captain for the Blue Devils, the first in program history. That alone tells you about the character and work ethic that he's taking to Buffalo.

But he's pretty good on the field too.

DeWayne Carter is a 3-time All-ACC honoree, having racked up 25 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, seven caused fumbles and four fumble recoveries in his decorated career.

Duke has sent some talented pass rushers (such as Victor Dimukeje and Chris Rumph II) to the NFL in recent years, but Carter is actually the first interior defensive lineman to be drafted out of Duke since 1978!

Panthers draft LB Trevin Wallace

As a former linebacker himself, it's no surprise Dan Morgan decided to bring in a player like Wallace this early.

The Kentucky product racked up 80 tackles for the Wildcats last season, with 5.5 sacks and 1 interception. He's also good in coverage, having given up only one touchdown as the primary defender his entire college career.

At 6'1", 237 lbs, Wallace has plenty of size that should help him adjust to the NFL level.

It would be a surprise to see him start this year, with Shaq Thompson returning from injury and free agent signee Josey Jewell already in place. But with his raw athleticism and talent, you could see Wallace make multiple impact plays as a rookie.

Dealin' Dan does it again! Panthers make another trade

If you thought the Panthers were going to stand pat at No. 65 overall to open the third round, you don't know Dan Morgan. This man is addicted to making trades, and committed to accumulating extra draft capital.

This time, Carolina dropped 7 slots to No. 72 overall, and picked up another 5th rounder for their troubles.

In such a deep draft at key positions, you have to be a fan of this gameplan from Morgan. A normal amount of picks isn't going to get it done.

The Panthers have a multitude of holes to fill on their roster. The more tries to find an impact player, the better.

Stay tuned.

With Dan Morgan in charge, you never know when the Panthers might pick next.

Round 2

The Panthers trade back up for a running back! Dan Morgan can't be stopped!

Well we know this... Dan Morgan isn't exactly a "sit and wait" type of GM.

Mere minutes after trading down to No. 52 overall, the Panthers leapt back up to No. 46 overall, nabbing Texas running back Jonathon Brooks.

Brooks is the first running back to go off the board in this year's draft, and it's easy to see why. He averaged better than 6 yards per carry for the Longhorns last season, topping 11-hundred yards and 10 touchdowns.

Brooks' season was cut short when he tore his ACL in November. It is still unclear when he will return to action.

On top of giving Bryce Young another weapon to work with on offense, the Brooks pick makes it pretty clear that Morgan is not that impressed with Miles Sanders (or Chuba Hubbard).

Carolina had other needs here. You don't make this pick unless you feel that Brooks is going to heavily contribute this year, then take over as the full-time starter next year.

Trade details, by the way, are as follows:

• Panthers get No. 46 overall
• Colts get No. 52, No. 142 and No. 155 overall

Panthers maneuver back 13 spots, pick up two extra 5th rounders

New general manager Dan Morgan is clearly unafraid to make a deal.

Carolina pulled off their second trade in as many picks, when they sent No. 39 overall to the LA Rams.

In exchange, the Panthers get the No. 52 overall pick, a 5th round pick in this year's draft and, most crucially, a 2nd round pick in next year's draft!

After drafting an offensive player last night, look for the Panthers to possibly address the defensive side of the ball when they pick next, particularly at cornerback or edge rusher.

Round 1

Surprise! Panthers trade up into the first round, draft Xavier Legette at No. 32

Just when you thought the night was over, the Carolina Panthers crashed the first round party, trading up one spot to draft South Carolina receiver Xavier Legette at No. 32 overall.

Essentially, the Panthers swapped out one of their 5th round picks (141st overall) for Buffalo's 6th round pick (200th overall) to get the deal done.

Legette was a late riser up many teams' draft boards because of his rare combination of size and explosiveness.

That explosiveness is something the Panthers offense sorely lacked in 2023. Clearly, getting Bryce Young a (hopefully) elite weapon was top priority for this Carolina coaching staff.

The Bills traded their draft pick to the Chiefs and their fans are mad

The Buffalo Bills traded away Stefon Diggs this offseason. They need a receiver.

They also can't seem to get past the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Helping them would be a bad idea.

And yet, it seems that's exactly what the Bills did, when they allowed the Chiefs to trade up to their No. 28 overall pick and draft Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy.

Bills fans are furious.

In case you didn't know, Worthy ran the fastest 40-yard dash time of any player ever at this year's NFL Combine, clocking in at 4.21.

With that kind of speed, Worthy is drawing obvious comparisons to another former Chiefs receiver, Tyreek Hill (but hopefully without the off-field issues).

Buccaneers select Duke OL Graham Barton at No. 26 overall

Duke's Graham Barton is guaranteed to make a return trip to North Carolina at least once per season.

That's because Barton will be playing in the NFC South for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who drafted him No. 26 overall.

Barton was a two-time first-team All-ACC in 2022 and 2023. He is the eighth first round pick in Duke football history and the first since Daniel Jones in 2019.

He is also the highest-ever offensive lineman drafted out of Duke, beating out Laken Tomlinson in 2015 (Tomlinson went 28th overall to the Detroit Lions).

Fun with parents

ABC's NFL draft coverage is a bit more family-focused and it gave us a couple gems on Thursday night.

Reporter Laura Rutledge made an unfortunate mistake while the parents of new Vikings pass rusher Dallas Turner. She called Turner's mom by the wrong name! Whoops.

Not long after that, Rutledge moved on to interview the parents of receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (who went 23rd overall to the Jaguars), when she asked a pretty standard question about the metaphorical journey the family took to reach this point.

Mom took things a bit more literally.

First defensive player finally selected as Colts draft Laiatu Latu at No. 15

For the first time in draft history, there were 14 straight offensive players drafted. Not just to start the draft, but at any point in the draft, period.

The Colts finally ended the drought when they picked up UCLA pass rusher Laiatu Latu with the 15th overall pick.

Latu is a cool story. He actually medically retired from football at Washington because of neck issues but, after transferring to UCLA, was able to get the medical attention he needed to continue his career.

Six, count 'em SIX, quarterbacks taken in the first 12 picks

Shortly after the shocking Penix pick, the Minnesota Vikings traded up one spot to No. 10 and selected JJ McCarthy out of Michigan.

That's not really a surprise, but the Denver Broncos' move at No. 12 was. They drafted Oregon's Bo Nix, making him the sixth quarterback selected in the first dozen picks.

That's never happened before in NFL Draft history.

What??? Falcons draft a QB at No. 8 overall, take Michael Penix Jr.

This is a stunner from the Panthers' NFC South rivals

The Falcons just gave a ton of money to Kirk Cousins in free agency so they have more pressing needs than quarterback on their roster, namely a pass rusher.

Atlanta has just 81 sacks in the last three seasons combined, the lowest in the NFL.

Does this mean Cousins (who is coming off an Achilles injury) isn't rehabbing as quickly as Atlanta hoped? It doesn't sound like it. In fact, Cousins was reportedly just as surprised (and blind-sided) as anyone else.

Penix just had an outstanding season at Washington, leading the Huskies to the National Championship game, but he also has a long list of injuries in his history.

The rest of the league is going to have a hard time topping this one in terms of shock factor for the rest of the night.

Patriots keep No. 3 pick, draft UNC quarterback Drake Maye

This was the first truly intriguing moment of the night.

New England was considering trading back from this spot (likely to either the Giants or Vikings), but decided against it in order to draft the former Tar Heel star.

Maye is the second UNC quarterback in the last seven years to be drafted in the Top 3 of the draft. Mitchell Trubisky went No. 2 overall to the Bears back in 2017.

Here's Bill Belichick breaking down Maye's tape.

Bears draft Caleb Williams No. 1

No surprise here. This has been an open secret for weeks now.

Williams goes to a Chicago team that was playing pretty good football at the end of the 2023 season. They were also aggressive during free agency, acquiring receiver Keenan Allen and running back D'Andre Swift to go alongside DJ Moore.

(UPDATE: The Bears drafted receiver Rome Odunze at No. 9 overall, so they're really going all-in on helping the rookie QB. Williams was a fan of the pick.)

It's not a very nice thought, but you have to figure that Panthers fans will be rooting against Williams for the foreseeable future. If he's awesome right away, it would make the (apparently) lopsided Bryce Young trade sting even worse.

The crowd is huge

No official estimate yet, but wow.