It's worth repeating as many times as it takes—you can never have too many good pass rushers in today's NFL. The Carolina Panthers have learned that the hard way in recent years, as they've finished near the bottom of the league in sacks four straight seasons. The Panthers did go out of their way to boost this unit in free agency, signing Jaelan Phillips to a massive four-year, $120 million deal. Phillips had a strong preseason debut for Carolina on Saturday, and fellow outside linebackers Princely Umanmielen and Cam Gill both flashed as well. It's only one game—and a preseason game at that, though. So, it's not out of the question for the Panthers to add more firepower to the edge rotation in next year's draft—even with Nic Scourton likely to return from his ACL tear in 2027. A new 2027 mock draft from Bleacher Report has that happening, with the Carolina taking University of Texas edge defender Colin Simmons at No. 7 overall. Analyst Brent Sobleski writes:
After signing Jaelan Phillips in free agency this past offseason, this pick definitely leans toward the 'best player available' strategy," B/R scout Matt Holder said. "Simmons currently ranks as the third overall prospect and best pass-rusher on Bleacher Report's initial big board. However, Nic Scourton is going to miss all of this season after tearing an ACL in training camp, meaning his second year in the NFL will be focused on rehabilitation instead of building off a solid rookie campaign...
Simmons (6-foot-3, 244 pounds) is coming off a breakout 2026 campaign—having posted an SEC-best 12.0 sacks to go with 15.5 tackles for a loss. That's after an impressive freshman year, where Simmons tallied up 9.0 sacks and 14 tackles for a loss.
It's a bit early in the game to predict what the Panthers' biggest roster need will be going into the 2027 NFL Draft, but they could certainly do worse than taking a prospect like Simmons. If he is their top pick, he has the potential to be a Week 1 starter opposite Phillips. Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content. This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers boost pass rush with Texas prospect in new 2027 mock draft