By now, every chronically online fan of the Carolina Panthers should have at least some idea of what they're planning to do in the first round tonight.
The consensus of the draft community and the beat reporters is that they're going after Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq or safety Dillon Thienemen. If neither Duck is there, then perhaps they'll settle for either Texas A&M's KC Concepcion or Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr. at wide receiver. Or, if ESPN's Dan Graziano is right they're hoping to land an offensive lineman, likely a potential successor to right tackle Taylor Moton or left tackle Ickey Ekwonu.
Round 2, however, is much more of a mystery. But we do have our first hard reporting on Carolina's interest in a clear second-round prospect.
According to Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, the Panthers and the Buffalo Bills have both done "extensive homework" on Texas Tech linebacker prospect Jacob Rodriguez.
Asked several NFL scouts to predict which off-ball linebacker goes second at the position this week, after Sonny Styles. The consensus was Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez. Carolina and Buffalo are among teams that did extensive homework on Rodriguez. pic.twitter.com/fK41fVKJnc
The Panthers dramatically improved their inside linebacker corps by signing Devin Lloyd to a three-year, $42 million deal in free agency. However, if the season were to begin today, he'd probably be starting next to Trevin Wallace—which might squander a lot of the good work that the 2025 Pro Bowler brings to the table.
Pairing Lloyd with another competent off-ball linebacker would seal off the second-biggest hole in defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero's unit, making their midldle level a strength rather than a weakness for the first time since Luke Kuechly's retirement.
Rodriguez does a bit of everything on the field—as he put up 128 combined tackles (11 for a loss), four interceptions, six pass breakups and seven forced fumbles last season.
Going into the draft Rodriguez is projected to come off the board in Round 2 at No. 41 overall, so the Panthers may need to move up from No. 51 or down from No. 19 if they're really determined to get him.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Panthers reportedly interested in LB Jacob Rodriguez