The Panthers gave their fans two weeks of unexpected football after a 3-8-1 start seemed destined to offer them a top 10 pick.
But now, their job of fixing their flaws for next year is about a dozen spots harder.
The Panthers locked up the 25th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft after Saturday’s loss to the Seahawks, as the divisional round results filled in four more draft slots.
Baltimore will pick 26th, while the Cowboys will have the 27th spot and the Broncos 28th.
Next weekend’s conference championship game losers will pick 29th and 30th.
The top 20 picks go to non-playoff teams, while the wild card weekend losers occupy spots 21-24.
Because of their playoff success, the Panthers will draft behind 11 teams which finished the regular season with better records than their 7-8-1 mark.