Behind the Scenes: Panthers Were Worried Giants Would Take Jonathon Brooks

Carolina moved one spot ahead of New York to secure the Texas running back.

The Carolina Panthers had strong feelings for Texas running back Jonathon Brooks heading into the 2024 NFL Draft and wanted to ensure they were in position to land him. The Panthers had to do a little moving around the board to make it happen, but they were able to accomplish the mission.

In the second episode of Panthers Blueprint, the team detailed the conversation between GM Dan Morgan, team owner David Tepper, head coach Dave Canales, and VP of Football Ops Brandt Tilis as they were in the process of trading up to No. 46 - the pick they used to take Brooks.

“I think we should do our two fives and go get him, Morgan told Tepper and Canales. “The Giants had Brooks in for a 30 visit. I think we should do it."

You could really tell Morgan had his eyes set on Brooks and even told Tepper that he was scared he wouldn't make it to their pick at No. 52.

“Brooks is another guy we had conviction on - the scouts, the coaches - and we didn’t want to lose out on him. We felt like there was always the chance that somebody could trade over us to get him and I knew that other teams thought that he was the best back in the draft too.”

Brooks saw his final season at Texas cut short when he suffered a torn ACL against TCU in mid-November. Despite the injury, he still ended up being the first running back selected in the draft. In 2023, he rushed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns on 187 carries. Head coach Dave Canales told reporters at the end of mandatory minicamp that Brooks is continuing to make progress in his recovery, but could potentially miss the start of training camp.

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