CHARLOTTE — The 2025 NFL draft is now less than a week away. Teams are updating their big board every day, welcoming in prospects for visits, and evaluating their current rosters every minute of every day. Only a select few in each building know what a club might due when the first round quicks off on April 24 in Green Bay, but between now and then, we will take a look at different positions of need for the Carolina Panthers, and how they might be addressed in the upcoming draft.

The Panthers currently have nine picks:

• Rd. 1, No. 8 overall
• Rd. 2, No 57 overall (from Rams)
• Rd. 3, No. 74 overall
• Rd. 4, No. 111 overall
• Rd. 4, No. 114 overall (from Cowboys)
• Rd. 5, No. 140 overall (from Giants)
• Rd. 5, No. 146 overall
• Rd. 5, No. 163 overall (from Ravens)
• Rd. 7, No. 230 overall (from Cardinals)

Position previews are an aggregation from the opinion and analysis of various draft websites and mock drafts. These are not rankings of a position, but rather a preview of names projected across all three days of the draft. Analysis by the Panthers editorial staff does not reflect the Panthers football staff and front office

Next up is safety.

The Panthers headed into the offseason with one safety under contract; 2024 undrafted rookie free agent Demani Richardson. Since then, the club brought back Nick Scott, who is a special teams ace but experienced safety as well, and signed Tre'von Moehrig in free agency. Moehrig has played deep safety but comes from the Raiders on the heels of his best career year as a slot safety.

Nick Emmanwori—South Carolina

Emmanowri finished with 88 tackles and four interceptions last season, then became a Combine darling after posting eye-popping athletic scores in Indianapolis. In some ways, he's still raw. There needs to be some polishing done with his hands and technique. But he's speedy, physical, and always around the ball. Marry that with the fact he's huge for safety, at 6-3, 227 pounds, and with just a little bit of faith and development, the South Carolina DB could be an interesting Day 1 prospect.

Malaki Starks — Georgia

Pro Football Focus' top rated safety in this years draft, Starks will bring the Georgia pedigree to whichever team drafts him in April. He had 77 tackles and one interception last season, numbers not quite as high as Emmanwori's, but he also had six interceptions total in three years. Starks is young, and slightly smaller at 6-1, 205 pounds. But he's smart and can play any of the safety positions well.

Xavier Watts—Notre Dame

During his four years with the Fighting Irish, Watts developed a reputation as a ball hawk and it was well earned. He had six interceptions in 2024, and seven in 2023, both in the Top 2 of all of FBS both years, and the most overall the past two years. Watts also added nine passes defended last season. His tackle numbers increased exponentially year-over-year in college, finishing up with 83 tackles in 2024.

Kevin Winston—Penn State

Winston is a conundrum. He has the length and physicality to be a good tackler, and showed an ability at Penn State to cover tight ends of all sizes and in different formations. He was in college for only three years though, playing sparingly as a freshman, and a knee injury cut his 2024 season short after only two games, so his ceiling is unknown.

Andrew Mukuba—Texas

Mukuba was a three-year starter for Clemson, even garnering Freshman All-American and ACC defensive rookie of the year honors in 2021. He transferred back home for his final year of eligibility and found a starting role with the Longhorns as well, thanks to his instincts and experience. He plays like a center-fielder, tracking the throw with ballhawk skills that resulted in five interceptions this past season, tied for fourth in FBS.

Sebastian Castro—Iowa

Castro worked his way into a starter by the back half of his career at Iowa. He led the Hawkeyes with three interceptions and eight pass break-ups in 2023, including one returned for a touchdown. Statistically 2024 saw a slight downtick, with one interception and one pass break-ups, but Castro threw himself into run defense with two forced-fumbles and 57 tackles. His size, 5-11 203 pounds, and age, he'll be 25 in October, will entice some teams and turn away others.

Malachi Moore—Alabama

Moore is a prototypical Nick Saban safety product; he might not be the biggest or flashiest, but he plays the game smart. He won't make mistakes, or at least won't make them twice, and processes so much pre-snap. His fifth and final season at Alabama, Moore had 70 tackles, a sack, two interceptions, and eight pass break-ups. He played through last season with a sports hernia and had surgery in December, but is cleared. Moore's special teams experience could be his best path to a roster spot as a rookie.

Caleb Ransaw—Tulane

Ransaw clocked a 4.33 time on the 40-yard dash, in the top 99 percentile of the position. He also has a 95 percent tackle success rate, making him sure-handed in the run game and outside. It's the former though where Tulane played Ransaw in his final year (he spent his first three years at Troy) playing him as a hybrid safety/linebacker role. His closing speed and tackling ability stand out, but low production on the ball mean he might be a package player, not an every down guy.