ESPN ranks 3 former Panthers DBs best picks ever at their NFL draft slots

The consensus seems to be that the Carolina Panthers dramatically overpaid their secondary this offseason. Jaycee Horn's megadeal has consistently been ranked among the worst in the league at his position, Mike Jackson got a pretty handsome pay-day given his experience and Tre'Von Moehrig is the biggest overpay of any safety in the NFL, according to some analysts.

There is some truth to those claims, but the unfortunate fact is that Carolina has to offer potential free agents more money than their competitors - and even that isn't enough sometimes - as we learned from the team's failed pursuit of Jaire Alexander.

The only way to break out of this cycle is to start winning games and making better draft picks to build a long-term contender that's better suited to compete thanks to contributions from players on cheap rookie contracts.

Historically the Panthers have had some hits in the draft on Day 3 - at least at one position. According to an analysis by ESPN ranking the best draft pick at every slot all time, Carolina landed the best No. 143 overall pick ever back in 2012 when they drafted Josh Norman out of Coastal Carolina.

Norman peaked with the Panthers in the 2015 season, totaling four interceptions, two pick-sixes and 56 tackles. For his efforts, Norman won the Most Improved Player award and also earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. All together, he appeared in 141 NFL games over a 12-year career, which is pretty remarkable for any Day 3 pick.

The Panthers also landed two more DBs on Day 3 that were ranked the best ever by ESPN at their spots - safety Chad Cota came in at No. 209 in the 1995 draft and Captain Munnerlyn joined the team in 2009 at pick No. 216 overall.