The Carolina Panthers finished 8-8 heading into the 2009 NFL offseason. They no longer had their first-round pick after trading it away to the Philadelphia Eagles the previous year.
The Detroit Lions found their franchise quarterback in Matthew Stafford and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers thought they found theirs in Josh Freeman. This meant the Carolina Panthers had to strike gold with their lower-round selections. And it is something that came with mixed fortunes.
Teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Minnesota Vikings drafted elite wide receivers who would go on to give defensive backs problems for many years.