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History
Expansion Draft
On February 15, 1995, Carolina and Jacksonville participated in the NFL's first expansion draft since 1976 when the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the league. Beginning with Jacksonville, the Panthers and Jaguars alternated picks until both teams had at least 30 players. Each existing NFL team made six players available and could lose no more than three players. Below is a list of the players that Carolina selected.
| Round | Pos | Player | Team | Notes |
| 1 (2) | CB | Rod Smith | New England | Started at cornerback in the Panthers inaugural regular season game at Atlanta (9/3/95). |
| 2 (4) | T | Harry Boatswain | San Francisco | |
| 3 (6) | TE | Kurt Haws | Washington | |
| 4 (8) | DE | Tyrone Rogers | Seattle | |
| 5 (10) | DE | Mark Thomas | San Francisco | Recorded six sacks in two seasons for Carolina (1995-96). |
| 6 (12) | CB | Tim McKyer | Pittsburgh | Returned interception 96 yards for touchdown to provide winning points in an upset of the defending Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers at 3Com Park (11/5/95). |
| 7 (14) | C | Curtis Whitley | San Diego | One of two offensive players to start every game for the Panthers in 1995. |
| 8 (16) | FB | Howard Griffith | LA Rams | Scored the Panthers only touchdown in the 1996 NFC Championship Game at Green Bay (1/12/97). |
| 9 (18) | NT | Greg Kragen | Kansas City | Led all Panthers defensive linemen in tackles in 1996 and 1997. |
| 10 (20) | S | Cary Brabham | LA Raiders | |
| 11 (22) | LB | Dave Garnett | Minnesota | |
| 12 (24) | LB | Andre Powell | NY Giants | |
| 13 (26) | RB | Dewell Brewer | Indianapolis | |
| 14 (28) | FB | Bob Christian | Chicago | Scored the first touchdown in Panthers history on a 16-yard pass in the Hall of Fame Game (7/29/95). |
| 15 (30) | S | Fred Foggie | Pittsburgh | |
| 16 (32) | WR | Mark Carrier | Cleveland | Set an expansion record with 66 receptions for 1,002 yards in 1995. |
| 17 (34) | C | Mark Rodenhauser | Detroit | Handled the Panthers long-snapping duties for three seasons (1995-97). |
| 18 (36) | WR | Steve Hawkins | New England | |
| 19 (38) | RB | Brian O'Neal | Philadelphia | |
| 20 (40) | RB | Derrick Lassic | Dallas | |
| 21 (42) | WR | Richard Buchanan | LA Rams | |
| 22 (44) | QB | Doug Pederson | Miami | |
| 23 (46) | TE | Vince Marrow | Buffalo | |
| 24 (48) | WR | Larry Ryans | Detroit | |
| 25 (50) | G | Baron Rollins | New Orleans | |
| 26 (52) | LB | William Sims | Minnesota | |
| 27 (54) | LB | Paul Butcher | Indianapolis | Tied for the team lead in 1995 with 20 special teams tackles. |
| 28 (56) | QB | Jack Trudeau | NY Jets | Completed 11-of-17 passes for 100 yards with three interceptions versus St. Louis (9/17/95) in only Panthers appearance. |
| 29 (58) | WR | Charles Swann | Denver | |
| 30 (60) | WR | David Mims | Atlanta | |
| 31 (62) | DE | Shawn Price | Tampa Bay | Played in all 16 games in 1995. |
| 32 (63) | WR | Eric Guliford | Minnesota | Recorded the first punt return for a touchdown in team history, scoring on a 62-yard return at Chicago (10/8/95). |
| 33 (64) | DT | Bill Goldberg | Atlanta | First player released in team history (4/20/95). Went on to become a star WCW wrestler. |
| 34 (65) | RB | Eric Ball | Cincinnati | |
| 35 (66) | DT | Mike Teeter | Houston |