With the 2024 NFL Draft quickly approaching, teams are finalizing draft visits and setting draft boards. 

Before we know it, mock drafts will be fodder as the real thing replaces any projections analysts and writers put together. 

The Carolina Panthers won't have a first-round draft pick due to the 2023 trade for the No. 1 pick which turned into Bryce Young. That makes everything happening in the second round far more important. 

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. released his final two-round mock draft and the Panthers add to the passing game and the trenches following an early second-round trade with the New York Giants. 

Panthers' wheeling and dealing in the second round 

Carolina possesses pick No. 33 in the second round. But Kiper Jr. has the Panthers trading pick No. 33 for pick No. 47 to start day 2. 

With pick No. 39, Kiper Jr. has the Panthers drafting wide receiver Ladd McConkey out of Georgia. 

"McConkey is a versatile and shifty receiver who caught 119 passes and had 18 touchdowns over three college seasons. He can play inside and outside, and he has the speed — he ran a 4.39-second 40 at the combine — to blow by cornerbacks. The Panthers improved their receiving corps with the trade for Diontae Johnson, but they had one of the league's worst units a year ago and should add more talent." — Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN

The Panthers are in desperate need of pass catchers. Already, the team has added Diontae Johnson in a free-agency trade. McConkey would bring a plug-and-play quality to the Panthers' offense. 

With pick No. 47, the selection the Panthers added in the draft day trade with the Giants, Kiper Jr. has the Panthers selecting offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson.

"I addressed Carolina's wide receiver corps at No. 39, and let's stay on offense with the pick from the projected trade with the Giants. Do the Panthers trust Austin Corbett to be an above-average starter after moving him from guard to center? I'm not so sure. Powers-Johnson might be an immediate upgrade on departed starter Bradley Bozeman. The Rimington Trophy winner allowed just two total pressures last season."- Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN

The offensive line is critical to the Panthers' success in Young's second season. Powers-Johnson is a versatile option. He played center and guard and the Panthers need someone who can fill the center role quickly. 

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