Predicting which Carolina Panthers players will land on the NFL’s Top 100 and how high on the list they should be
NFL Network will start unveiling the Top 100 players on Monday evening and the Carolina Panthers have a few players who could be featured among some of the top players in the league. Let’s predict which ones should make the cut.
The NFL’s Top 100 is an annual list released each offseason that’s voted on specifically by the players. This year’s edition will start coming out on Monday on the NFL’s official X account and we could see a few Carolina Panthers players make the cut after winning the NFC South last season.
To compile the 100 player list, select players are asked to rank their Top-20 players in the NFL and then the league scores those ballots in a reverse scoring system (#1 ranked player is worth 20 points, #20 ranked player is worth 1 point). Since it’s voted by the players, not the media and fans, this is always an intriguing list for the league, although there is still some subjectiveness involved.
As for which Panthers players make the cut, let’s make our predictions before Monday night’s first release and guess where we could see those players landing.
Narrowly missed the cut: WR Tetairoa McMillan
The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year had a stellar season with the Carolina Panthers, but I don’t think it will be enough for wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan to earn a spot on the NFL’s Top 100 following his first NFL season.
McMillan totaled 70 receptions, over 1,014 yards, and seven touchdowns during the 2025-26 regular season, numbers that rivaled some of the best rookie campaigns in franchise history. However, those numbers ranked 22nd (receptions), 13th (receiving yards), and T-11th (receiving touchdowns) among all wide receivers.
Last year, 16 wide receivers made the cut for the Top 100, including three rookies (Brian Thomas Jr., Malik Nabers, and Ladd McConkey). McMillan will have a real chance to crack the list, but it’s worth noting all three of those 2024 rookie WRs posted better statistical seasons compared to McMillan. I think he will just narrowly miss the cut.
DT Derrick Brown – #99
I am predicting that defensive tackle Derrick Brown finally makes the cut for the first time in his NFL career. Brown was already robbed of Pro Bowl honors after the 2025-26 season, a year in which he recorded 5.0 sacks and 39 pressures.
Those stats honestly don’t do Brown enough justice for the level of disruption he had on the interior of the Panthers defensive front and the players he faced aren’t stat sheet watchers. They know just how good of a player he is. Even still, I only have Brown coming in at #99 on the list.
LB Devin Lloyd – #82
Technically, the Panthers would get to claim linebacker Devin Lloyd if he ends up cracking the list even if he played for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, so I’m counting this. And I do see Lloyd making the list after the season he had down in Duval County.
Lloyd was a Pro Bowl selection and made the second-team All-Pro list after recording five interceptions, 10 QB hits, and over 80 tackles. He then parlayed that breakout season into a solid contract with the Carolina Panthers.
I see Lloyd landing in the 80s-70s. To be safe, I’m going to predict he comes in at the #82 spot on the Top 100 list.
CB Jaycee Horn – #31
Another Panthers player looking to earn his first career Top 100 appearance is cornerback Jaycee Horn, coming off his second consecutive Pro Bowl season. Horn was a lock down defender for the Panthers recording five interceptions and eight pass deflections.
Last season, few cornerbacks were ranked very high. Only three cornerbacks in Pat Surtain II (10), Derek Stingley Jr. (18), and Quinyon Mitchell (49) were ranked inside the Top-50 with only three cornerbacks ranked between 51-100.
Horn deserves to crack the list and I could even see him landing within the Top-50. But, I don’t view him in the same caliber as Surtain and Stingley as a Top-25 player.