Dan Kadar of Mocking the Draft is back with his latest first round mock, and he has picked an interesting — and surprising — player for the Carolina Panthers at No. 24 overall.
24. Carolina Panthers: Jessie Bates, S, Wake Forest
Meet the surprise first-round party crasher. Safety is overwhelmingly Carolina’s biggest need in the draft, and Bates is the top one available. Bates is a coverage specialist with really good range and closing speed. He’s not a great box player, but he can mask a lot of mistakes in the secondary.