Now that their 2024 season is over and their 2025 draft position is set, who will the Carolina Panthers be angling for with the eighth overall pick this April? Let's see what the experts think. Here's what the early mock drafts are saying about the Panthers and their first-round targets .

The Carolina Panthers at one point held the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. A hotter finish, going 4-5 after starting 1-7, prevented them from picking that high. A huge win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18 pushed them even further down the draft board.

According to ESPN senior NFL report Jeremy Fowler, the team is making several coaching changes to the defensive staff. Fowler posted on Wednesday that the Panthers will be parting ways with outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu, secondary coach Bert Watts and defensive quality control coach Bobby Maffei.

The Carolina Panthers will make some changes to their defensive staff after all. While defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero will return, two of his top assistants won’t be back.

“Everything,” the Florida Panthers captain said. Closing out their two-game trip by pocketing a pair of important points, the Panthers steadily built up their game in a 4-1 win over the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center on Wednesday.

All things considered, though, the Utah Hockey Club performed at an elite level on Wednesday, despite losing 4-1 to the Florida Panthers (It was a 2-1 game with two empty-net goals). Utah kept up on both ends of the ice, and they held their own when things got chippy.

Another strong game from Sergei Bobrovsky was the backbone as the Panthers took down Utah 4-1. The first period in Utah was mostly uneventful as both teams appeared to be feeling out one another. An early power play during the second period gave Florida the opportunity to break the ice at the Delta Center,

Jesper Boqvist scored two goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves in the Florida Panthers' 4-1 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Wednesday in Salt Lake City.

The Panthers will play host to the Rangers​ at loanDepot Park in Miami -- home of baseball's Marlins -- on Jan. 2, 2026, the NHL said Wednesday.