Panthers Pre-Training Camp Questions: Wide Receiver Edition

Matt Alquiza | Jul 11, 2024

Jun 4, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) throws during OTAs. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Can Jonathan Mingo or Terrace Marshall Jr. earn playing time?

The Carolina Panthers don’t have the greatest track record when it comes to drafting receivers in the second round. Maybe that’s why they traded up from 33 to 32 to draft Xavier Legette? That’s beside the point. 

Terrace Marshall Jr. has been a massive disappointment. In his short three-year career, Marshall has hauled in a total of 727 yards and a single touchdown on 64 receptions. What would be a disappointing two months for his college teammate Ja’Marr Chase has been the whole of Marshall’s career. To pour salt on the wound, Marshall only played nine games in 2023 with the team making him a healthy scratch for most of those after he requested a trade. For a 2023 Panthers team in desperate need of juice outside the numbers, the fact that Marshall couldn’t make an impact doesn’t bode well for his future prospects. 

There are two major detriments to Marshall’s future with the team. One, is that the coaching staff has no ties to him. The regime that drafted Marshall is long gone, and Dave Canales and company have no stake in his development. They’re trying to build the roster in their image, and Marshall may not be a part of their plans. The other detriment is a volomptous country boy from Mullins, South Carolina that was drafted in the first round of April’s draft. Xavier Legette is the speedy, ball-winning receiver that Marshall was projected to be. Marshall will start the preseason behind Legette on the depth chart, but if the fourth-year Panther impresses early on in camp while the rookie struggles, Marshall will have a chance to earn his way back into the rotation.

The other Carolina receiver who was bumped down the depth chart after the team traded for Diontae Johnson and drafted Legette is Jonathan Mingo. Mingo, another second round draft pick, failed to impress in his rookie campaign. He occasionally flashed the high-end talent that got him drafted 39th overall, but he was consistently inconsistent, frustrating coaches, quarterbacks, and fans alike. Mingo’s greatest problem was that Carolina miscast him as a ball-winning X-receiver. Adam Thielen dominated the slot snaps and intermediate routes, the two places where Mingo should thrive. 

Between the two, Mingo has a clearer path to playing time. Like Marshall, Mingo was drafted by the former regime, something he’ll have to work through. Unlike Marshall, Mingo is sitting behind the oldest wide receiver in the league. Thielen is significantly more likely than Legette to get banged up or get a day off in training camp which would open the door for Mingo to stack impressive reps in practice. 

To answer the question at hand, I believe the answer is ‘no’ for Marshall, and ‘yes’ for Mingo. 

Can Xavier Legette and Diontae Johnson elevate Bryce Young?

This might be the question of training camp. The Panthers invested a ton of resources into building Bryce Young’s supporting cast, and the pairing of Legette and Johnson are the crown jewels in Canles and Dan Morgan’s rebuilt passing attack. They were not only brought in to lift the offense as a whole. They were brought in to revive Bryce Young. 

Young’s career is far from being on life support, but his rookie year was a massive struggle. We don’t need to dive any further into that here. Johnson and Legette will give Young an option he couldn’t tap into in his rookie season. Throwing to receivers that can get open. 

Johnson walks into the stadium wide open. He has incredible movement skills and body control that make him one of the toughest covers in the league. Poor quarterback play has suppressed his career statistical output, but metrics like ESPN’s Open Score and Matt Harmon’s Reception Perception grade put Johnson as one of the best route-runners in the NFL. He’ll be open. It’ll be on Bryce Young to find him. 

On the other side of the field, Legette is a true burner. A DK Metcalf-style of receiver that makes up for lack of wiggle and route-running skills with raw power and speed. He may take some time to develop, but in a league full of athletic freaks Legette projects to be one of the freakiest from day one. Canales should use Legette in a number of ways (screens, shallow crossers, jet sweeps, etc.) to use his speed in ways other than just stretching the field vertically. If Legette pans out, the combination of him and Johnson should elevate Bryce Young to new heights. If the duo looks good on tape, and Young fails to improve, Carolina has a bigger question on their hands. 

Do the Panthers have something in Jalen Coker?

Carolina guaranteed $225,000 of Coker’s salary. An astronomical number for an undrafted free agent. The team was lauded for the post-draft signing, and a franchise looking for juice outside has no reason not to take a big gamble on maybe the best UDFA of this class. 

Carolina is likely to keep five or six wide receivers on their roster post-training camp. Johnson, Thielen, Legette, and Mingo are locks. Marshall has a claim to a spot. Ihmir Smith-Marsette and his returning prowess has a claim to a spot. Mike Strahan flashed a couple of times in 2023. David Moore has been around the block. 

All of that to say, Coker has a bunch of competition for a roster spot. The competition all have flaws, as does Coker, but he’ll need to work hard and show real talent in camp to be on the initial 53 come September. The former High Point Panther will have my full attention come July 24th as he tries to complete the full underdog story going from UDFA to active in week one. 

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