CHARLOTTE The latest entry in summer list season is here, and a strong group of Panthers legends got their due.

But probably not the ones you'd expect.

ESPN analyst Ben Solak took on the unenviable (or foolish or maybe even monumentally wasting his time) task of determiningthe greatest players ever to play in the NFL from each spot in the draft. His rule was to begin in the common draft era (since 1967) and use the modern format (meaning 262 picks).

Credit where credit's due, it's a fantastic and unique spin on summer content, and we appreciate it because it's also an entry in the great catalog of "Let's say some names of old sports guys," which we used to do in the office here with baseball cards (Nick Esasky!), and is generally regarded as a thing dudes do instead of going to therapy.

Of course, the higher you go in the draft order, the more competition there's going to be for top honors. So the four guys drafted by the Panthers to make the list aren't necessarily the best Panthers draft picks ever (or close, but they're all special in their own way).

But credit to Josh Norman (No. 143 in 2012), Chad Cota (No. 209 in 1995), Captain Munnerlyn (No. 216 in 2009), and Will Montgomery, of course (No. 234 in 2006). Never mind that Montgomery only played six of his 110 games here. The Panthers had good lines then, it was hard for seventh-rounders to hang around.

(It's worth noting that three of those guys were taken by former GM Marty Hurney, who gets a lot of static for not being able to draft well past the first round. So, take that, naysayers.)

Two other guys who played for the Panthers but weren't drafted here were listed, including Hall of Famer Kevin Greene (No. 113 by the Rams in 1985) and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Jared Allen (No. 126 by the Chiefs in 2004).

Greene had his most productive three-year stint here in 1996 and 1998-99, with 41.5 of his 160.0 career sacks (way better than the 35.5 he had in three years with the Steelers before coming here as a free agent).

Allen played the final of his 12 seasons here in 2015, and collected 2.0 of his 136.0 career sacks as a member of the Panthers before retiring after Super Bowl 50.

Some other tangential Panthers made the list, including:

No. 201 Ray Brown (who was an assistant OL coach here from 2011-15).

No. 207 Jessie Armstead (who signed here in 2004 but never played a game after a preseason injury landed him on IR).

No. 240 Shawn Jefferson (WR coach in 2023).

It's when you get down into the weeds of the Panthers who didn't make the list that you get the good fodder for the conversation around the grill tomorrow.

Julius Peppers was mentioned among the top No. 2s, but lost out to Lawrence Taylor (fair enough).

Likewise five other Hall of Honor members fell short including Jordan Gross (No. 8 Ronnie Lott), Steve Smith (No. 74 Will Shields, among three other Hall of Famers there including Curtis Martin, Charlie Sanders, and Larry Wilson), Muhsin Muhammad (No. 43 HOF OT Dan Dierdorf), Mike McCormack (No. 34 HOF LB Jack Ham) and Wesley Walls (No. 56 former Giants DE Osi Umenyiora).

Now, if you want to argue the merits of a three-time All-Pro with two rings like Umenyiora vs. a three-time All-Pro with one ring in Walls, have at it. I'll be having another hot dog.

Likewise, some Panthers legends of recent vintage couldn't push through some illustrious traffic including No. 1 overall choice Cam Newton (14 HOFers including Peyton Manning), No. 11 Luke Kuechly (JJ Watt edged out HOFers Michael Irvin and Patrick Willis), and No. 31 Greg Olsen (Cam Heyward, HOFer Curley Culp).

The two high-picked Panthers who were probably the most aggressively snubbed came in the same draft in 2007 No. 59 overall pick Ryan Kalil (sadly, HOFer Aeneas Williams went to the Cardinals there), and No. 25 linebacker Jon Beason.

The No. 25 pick might have been the thinnest first-rounder (no HOFers), and Solak went with former Patriots linebacker D'onta Hightower, also mentioning Ted Washington and Stanley Morgan.

Here's the thing. Beason was a two-time All-Pro to Hightower's one, and a three-time Pro Bowler to Hightower's two. Of course, Hightower collected three rings as a member of Tom Brady's New England teams. But could he fly like Beason? I think not.

And what else do Beason and Kalil have in common? They were acquired in a draft-day trade in 2007, in which Hurney acquired a pair of cornerstone players for the No. 14 overall pick.

Of course, the Jets turned that pick into cornerback Darrelle Revis, who was named the best ever 14th pick (sorry, Thomas Davis).

We now return you to preparing the potato salad and cutting the watermelon for the cookout. You'll all have plenty to talk about.