A Fridge and a microwave: Analyzing Day 2 of the Carolina Panthers’ NFL Draft
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The Carolina Panthers have leaned into a “Size does matter” theme in 2026 NFL Draft.
- On Day 2, the Panthers began by selecting Lee Hunter, a DT nicknamed “The Fridge.”
- Carolina’s 3rd-round selection was Chris Brazzell II, who will give Panthers deep threat.
The Carolina Panthers seem to have one goal above all others in the 2026 NFL Draft: enormity.
It has been a colossal draft so far for the Panthers, who used their first two picks on gigantic linemen. And then even when they went for speed in the third round in the person of Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell II, they picked a wide receiver who is 6-foot-4.
Brazzell will provide some dazzle. He runs a 4.37 in the 40, and Panthers coach Dave Canales said Friday night that Brazzell was one of his favorite players in the entire draft.
But this draft has so far been hewing to a “size does matter” theme, as Carolina attempts to add more pieces around quarterback Bryce Young and attack opposing QBs.
Former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman, who constructed much of the team that got Carolina to the Super Bowl in 2015, used to say, “Big men allow you to compete.” Gettleman often focused his efforts on players he called “hog mollies” — the men in the trenches who often don’t make headlines but allow teams to run the ball and stop the run.
In the first two rounds of the 2026 draft, current general manager Dan Morgan has seemed a lot like Gettleman 2.0, as he drafted Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling (6-7, 318) and Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter (6-3, 318).
Hunter was listed at 330 pounds in his final collegiate season, at Texas Tech. From high school onward, his teammates have called him “The Fridge,” a nickname made famous by one-time Clemson star William “The Refrigerator” Perry that now has found a home for a new generation.
The nickname was first bestowed upon Hunter by his high school defensive coordinator, who said he was going to call him “Fridge” because ... well, why exactly?
“If people want to eat, they got to get through you,” Hunter said, quoting his old DC. “So I took that and ran with it.”
Would Hunter like Panthers fans to call him that?
“I embrace it,” he said, “and I’d love for the Panthers fans to call me ‘The Fridge.’”
If Hunter was the Fridge the Panthers acquired in Day 2, Brazzell was the microwave. He gets things done fast. He said in his media conference call after getting picked late Friday that he would have run about a 4.34 instead of a 4.37 at the combine except he false-started, costing him some time.
Canales, a former wide receivers coach himself, was particularly impressed that Brazzell has shown the ability not only to catch a deep ball, but to stay on his feet when he does so.
Said Brazzell of his ability: “I’m a playmaker. I’m a guy you can count on: third-and-3, third-and-8 or third-and-20.”
Brazzell’s father, the original Chris Brazzell, played two years in the NFL, also as a wide receiver. So he has grown up around NFL lore and with NFL goals. He is also very aware that wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2025 with the Panthers.
“I feel like I (can) do anything,” said Brazzell, who is listed at 198 pounds. “So hopefully him on one side, me on the other side, we can just make things work and be unstoppable.”
For the Panthers, the best-case scenario for their first three picks of this draft would be: Freeling starts at left tackle if Ickey Ekwonu isn’t ready for Day 1 of the season (and after his serious knee injury in January, my guess is he won’t be). Hunter immediately becomes part of the defensive rotation at nose guard in the Panthers’ 3-4 system (he’s considered more of a run-stopper than a pass rusher).
And Brazzell? He becomes Carolina’s third wide receiver, alongside McMillan and Jalen Coker, giving them a true deep threat on the field most of the time. That would mean he beats out Xavier Legette, which will make for an interesting training-camp competition.
This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "A Fridge and a microwave: Analyzing Day 2 of the Carolina Panthers’ NFL Draft."
