Dave Canales shares revealing comments on drafting for scheme vs. talent

Team need or best player available?

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers aren't yet good enough to really look at scheme fit or team need over talent, especially on defense. That said, it's still a consideration all teams have to make. Should the Panthers take a top-end tight end over a worse safety just even though they have a greater need at safety?

These are the questions Dave Canales, Dan Morgan, and the rest of the front office have to answer when they make selections in just a couple of months. Before that happens, the Panthers coach gave a little bit of insight into the process.

Dave Canales reveals drafting tendencies

Dave Canales breaks down drafting based on scheme

Think this is good insight as there’s been some discussion about selecting “Evero guys” vs other style players #Panthers pic.twitter.com/3CNDWQJ7Lr

— Unnecessary Bluntness Owner/Coach/QB (@DuncOnDemand) February 26, 2025

Certain coordinators run certain schemes. Ejiro Evero runs a secondary-centric 3-4 scheme on defense. Dave Canales has a particular offense he likes to run, too. When it comes to finding a scheme fit vs. the best players, Canales acknowledged that scheme fit is "important."

The coach said, "We have a vision for what a high-level nose tackle looks like in our defensive scheme. We have a vision for what we're going to ask this tight end to do. Because of the vision, the clearer we can see this person making that transition, then the more confidence we have in that pick."

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Canales said it's "risky" to blindly pick talented players without knowing where they'd even fit on an offense or defense. He and his fellow coaches know what things a position will be asked to do, and if a prospect doesn't do those things well, they might not take him.

If Canales' scheme needs a pass-catching tight end, then he's probably not going to take one who's a dominant blocker on the edge of the offensive line. For Evero's defense, they probably won't draft a defensive end who hasn't played IDL in a 3-4 because that's almost an entirely new position.

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