Colorado wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. (5) runs after a reception in a 2024 game against North Dakota State at Folsom Field. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Carolina Panthers entered Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft with upgraded depth at wide receiver and outside linebacker — and with several needs in other areas.
They exited Day 3 with many of those needs addressed.
Here’s who joined Tetairoa McMillan, Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen in this year’s draft class.
Sixth round (208th pick): Panthers pick up wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr.
Colorado wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. (5) runs after a reception in a 2024 game against North Dakota State at Folsom Field. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Carolina Panthers concluded their 2025 NFL Draft with another potential weapon for Bryce Young.
The franchise landed Jimmy Horn Jr. out of Colorado with their sixth-round pick. The team didn’t have a seventh-round pick coming into Saturday, a byproduct of general manager Dan Morgan’s wheeling and dealing.
Horn, a 5-foot-8, 174-pound pass catcher, jumps off the page thanks to his quickness and polish and general competitiveness. He notched a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and added an impressive 38-inch vertical jump to boot.
He rounds out the fourth of eight picks in the Panthers’ 2025 draft class — and one of four offensive players. He finished his senior season under the command of Deion Sanders’ offense with 37 receptions for 441 receiving yards and one touchdown in 11 games, shining despite having Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter regularly lining up next to him. He missed the final three games of the 2024 season due to a lower leg injury.
The Florida native and Sanford Seminole High School alum also has notable return experience. He averaged 21 yards per kickoff return and 10.29 yards per punt return his senior season at Colorado.
Fifth round (163rd pick): Panthers land TE Mitchell Evans
Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Mitchell Evans (88) runs after a catch against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half in the CFP title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Carolina’s fourth pick of Day 3 will help the tight end depth chart.
The team selected Notre Dame TE Mitchell Evans with their second fifth-round pick (163rd overall) on Saturday. The 6-foot-5, 258-pound tight end will join a room that already features Tommy Tremble, Ja’Tavion Sanders, and Jordan Matthews, among others.
During his four-year college career at Notre Dame, he produced 77 catches for 903 yards and five touchdowns. The Wadsworth, Ohio, native sustained a torn ACL during his junior year, but returned as a senior to catch 43 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns.
Evans seems like an ideal replacement for Ian Thomas behind Tremble and Sanders. Like Tremble, a fellow Notre Dame product, Evans has versatility to block and catch at the position.
The Panthers have one more pick left — the 208th overall selection in the sixth round — on Day 3.
Fifth round (140th pick): Carolina adds Florida DT Cam Jackson
Florida Gators defensive lineman Cam Jackson. Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun
Carolina added another talented prospect to the front seven on Saturday.
The team selected Florida defensive tackle Cam Jackson with the 140th overall pick in the fifth round. Jackson, a Haynesville, Louisiana, native, will enter a room that also features the likes of Derrick Brown, A’Shawn Robinson, Bobby Brown, Tershawn Wharton, Shy Tuttle and Jaden Crumedy.
During his college career, the 6-foot-6, 328-pound defensive lineman collected 120 tackles (11 for loss), four sacks, and five pass breakups. Jackson began his college journey at Memphis in 2020 before joining the Gators in 2023, where he was a teammate of fellow Panthers rookies, Princely Umanmielen and Trevor Etienne. Unlike Umanmielen and Etiene, though, Jackson finished his college career at Florida.
Jackson will likely be asked to play on special teams and compete for a depth job at defensive tackle. He should get an opportunity to play right away if he performs well in training camp and the preseason. He will certainly be able to push Tuttle and Crumedy further down the depth chart.
The enormous lineman has a massive frame with 34 1/8-inch arms. He could be viewed as a nose tackle of the future. He should also be able to play defensive end in odd fronts as well.
Fourth round (122nd pick): Panthers take Ohio State DB Lathan Ransom
Feb 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Ohio State defensive back Lathan Ransom (DB46) participates in drills during the 2025 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images USA TODAY NETWORK
The Panthers beefed up the shallow safety depth chart with their second pick in the fourth round.
The team added Ohio State defensive back Lathan Ransom with the 122nd overall pick on Saturday. The move gives the Panthers depth behind Tre’von Moehrig.
Ransom, a Tuscon, Arizona, native, is coming off a five-year tenure with the Buckeyes. He produced 227 total tackles (18 for loss), 3.5 sacks, three interceptions, and six forced fumbles during that tenure. The 6-foot, 206-pound safety will come in and compete for a notable role against Demani Richardson and Nick Scott in training camp, and he could be an asset on special teams.
Ransom is known for his physicality, and his sack, forced fumble and interception numbers show he has a knack for making big plays. Ransom has NFL size and the versatility to play multiple positions in the secondary, including big nickel.
Fourth round (114th pick): Panthers select Georgia RB Trevor Etienne
Georgia running back Trevor Etienne (1) breaks away for a big gain during the second half of the SEC championship game against Texas in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Panthers upgraded their running back depth chart early in the fourth round on Saturday.
The team selected Georgia RB Trevor Etienne with the 114th overall pick, adding to their draft haul with four more selections remaining on their docket. The pick was acquired in the trade deadline deal with the Dallas Cowboys for wideout Jonathon Mingo.
Etienne, a native of Jennings, Louisiana, joins a depth chart featuring Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle, Jonathon Brooks and Raheem Blackshear. The 5-foot-9, 198-pound playmaker will look to earn playing time immediately, and there’s a gateway to do that at the position, as Brooks is expected to miss most — if not all — of the upcoming season after ACL surgery.
Running back was clearly a need entering the draft weekend, and Etienne, at worst, should at least fill in a depth role in 2025. The young ball-carrier is the younger brother of Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne, so he should be well-prepared and educated on the rigors of the NFL.
During his three-year college career at Florida (2022 to 2023) and Georgia (2024), Etienne produced 2,081 rushing yards, 432 receiving yards, and 24 total touchdowns. He also ran a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in February.
Perhaps most notably though, Etienne has plenty of returner experience. In college, he returned 17 kickoffs for 645 yards (24.8 per return). The Panthers could view him as competition, and a potential successor, for Blackshear in that regard.
Previous selections
Ole Miss defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen (1) waits for the snap during a 2024 game against Furman at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
▪ First round: Eighth overall: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
▪ Second round: 51st overall (via Broncos): Nic Scourton, DE/OLB, Texas A&M
▪ Third round: 77th overall (via Patriots): Princely Umanmielen, OLB, Mississippi
▪ Fourth round (2): 114th overall (via Cowboys): Trevor Etienne, RB, Georgia; 122nd overall (via Broncos): Lathan Ransom, S, Ohio State
▪ Fifth round: 140th overall (via Giants): Cam Jackson, DT, Florida; 163rd overall pick (via Ravens): Mitchell Evans, TE, Notre Dame
▪ Sixth round: 208th overall (via Broncos): Jimmy Horn Jr., WR, Colorado
Notable positions of need
Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee USA TODAY NETWORK
▪ Safety
▪ Inside linebacker
▪ Kicker
▪ Cornerback
This story was originally published April 26, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
