Welcome back to another year of the SB Nation Community Mock Draft!
NFL mock draft 2026: Carolina Panthers select Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon
The Panthers grab Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman with the 19th pick in SB Nation’s Community Mock Draft
As we do every draft season, all 32 NFL sites at SB Nation come together to fill out an entire first-round mock draft leading up to the actual event that takes place from April 23-25. One by one, our site managers will make their picks and provide their reasoning behind the selection. From there, I will provide further analysis on top of giving a final opinion on the pick!
Without further ado, let’s keep things rolling!
With the 19th overall pick in the 2026 SB Nation Community Mock Draft, Cat Scratch Reader’s Walker Clement and the Carolina Panthers select Dillon Thieneman, safety, Oregon!
Clement’s analysis:
SB Nation NFL Mock Draft: With the 19th pick, the Panthers select...
Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon (by Walker Clement at Cat Scratch Reader)
Thieneman represents more of a wishlist prospect than an expectation with the 19th overall pick. He is a big, athletic safety who would slot in as the only true free safety on the Panthers roster, immediately upgrading Carolina's secondary. The Panthers have not prioritized the idea of a free safety in three years of Ejiro Evero's defense. This is their opportunity to improve their entire defense with one pick by making the jobs of everyone, from Jaelan Phillips to Tre'von Moerhig, that much easier.
Rec 6ReplyRead 12 replies
My analysis: Thieneman is one of the more polarizing prospects in this class as the opinion and evaluations on him range from being the second-best safety in the class behind OSU’s Caleb Downs to being no better than a Day 2 pick.
Evaluators and draftniks are continuing to undervalue the safety position and when they are seemingly so divided on a player like Thieneman — who has been nothing but productive no matter where he’s played — you can’t help but shake your head. He’s also one heck of an athlete! He’s truly the whole package at the position and there are really some out there who think he isn’t worthy of being picked in the first round.
Good on Walker here to go and get his guy. If Thieneman really could be the missing piece to unlocking the Carolina defense and taking them to another level, then you have to go get him.
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