The battle for supremacy at the front the Carolina Panthers’ wide receivers room started between a developmental rookie and a 33-year-old. So perhaps it wasn’t exactly a huge surprise that the position group underperformed throughout the season.
From a disconnected and discombobulated coaching staff to the bruised and battered trench, there were many contributing factors to the mess that was the 2023 Panthers offense. But none were more prominent than the receiving corps—which, as a whole, was as unreliable as they come.
Chief amongst the problems that plagued rookie quarterback Bryce Young was the lack of open targets. Adam Thielen, Jonathan Mingo and DJ Chark, the group’s three leading receivers from the campaign, all averaged less than three yards of separation.
So there’s nowhere to go but up for the least productive offense in football, right?
Perhaps not so coincidentally, the Panthers just hired a young head coach who not only comes over as a successful play-caller, but also spent eight years as an NFL wide receivers coach. There’s little doubt that Dave Canales and crew will look to make upgrades to the room.
Now, one or two of those upgrades could come through free agency. Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins, Jacksonville’s Calvin Ridley and Canales’ bud in Mike Evans are all set to hit the open market.
But now may not be the time for this rebuilding franchise to go all in dishing out the big bucks.
Instead, the 2024 draft’s loaded receiving class may hold the key. That’s especially great news for the Panthers, who currently do not own a first-round pick.
There could be as many as nine wideouts who hear their names called in the first round come the end of April. And with this being the deepest bunch in recent memory, there should be multiple others with similar grades who are bound to lag behind.
At the 33rd pick, Carolina could still be left with a handful of answers. So if you’re ready for draft season, get to studying the likes of Baylor’s Keon Coleman, North Carolina’s Devontez Walker, South Carolina’s Xavier Legette and Texas’ Adonai Mitchell.
The options, even now, are real, plentiful and potentially fantastic.
