Everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the mouth. Mike Tyson's adage applies to every team around the NFL, who put months and months into preparation for the draft—which will inevitably confront them with unforeseen changes and curveballs.For the Carolina Panthers, the plan for Round 1 seems to be to take one of two Oregon stars—either tight end Kenyon Sadiq or safety Dillon Thieneman. But there are no guarantees that either one will be available with the 19th overall selection.In the event that those plans fall through, the Panthers could opt for late riser in the process—Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion.
Joe Person at The Athleticwrote on Wednesday morning that he sees the Charlotte, N.C. native as a likely backup plan in Round 1. Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer also noted the connection on the most recent episode of his podcast, Processing Blue.Take a listen:I’ve had a lot of conversations that have led to KC Concepcion -@mike_e_kaye 👀👀👀#KeepPoundingpic.twitter.com/awkS8DCZWO— (Thomas) threes&tds (@threesandtds24) April 22, 2026Concepcion is the consensus fifth-ranked wide receiver in this class, and comes with a bonus of experience on special teams. After some light work on punt returns at NC State, he put in some heavy lifting as a punt returner last season for the Aggies—fielding 25 attempts for 456 yards and two touchdowns.That may be enough to put Concepcion over the top for the Panthers, who finished 26th in average punt returns last season.Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: NFL draft rumors: 'A lot of smoke' between Panthers, WR KC Concepcion