In an offseason move that was under the radar when the Panthers were signing Matt Paradis, Gerald McCoy, changing their defense, and making other changes to their roster, the Panthers added a veteran presence to their wide receiver room who can help them on the field this season.
Chris Hogan’s stats with the Patriots the last three seasons aren’t eye raising – 107 catches for 1,651 yards and 12 touchdowns over three years. However, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera sees value in bringing in a receiver that has won two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots.
“It’s interesting, you watch him run routes and the way he does things, very sharp, very crisp,” Rivera said after Monday’s practice. “He plucks the ball and when you see guys from programs like that, from winning programs – the gold standard – you want him to come here and to tell your young guys, ‘you know what, that isn’t good, you know what, this isn’t good enough.’ And for them to say, this is why they win, this isn’t good enough – and that’s why they win.”
Hogan has had an interesting journey to the NFL as an undrafted free agent coming out of Monmouth University – he went to Monmouth after graduating from Penn State with a year of eligibility left, which he decided to use to play football after attending Penn State, as you’ve probably heard, on a lacrosse scholarship. Hogan bounced around from the San Francisco 49ers to the New York Giants to the Miami Dolphins before landing with the Buffalo Bills for four seasons. Then, in 2016, Hogan signed with the Patriots where he played for three seasons and in three Super Bowls, winning two of them.
In April, the Panthers signed Hogan with the hopes of bolstering their receiver room. While DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel will likely receive a majority of the reps for the Panthers this season, Hogan does bring seven years of experience, excellent route running and a reliable deep threat. The young duo will spend most of their time on the outside, but Hogan has been a reliable slot receiver for many years. In New England, Hogan caught 35 passes for 532 yards and three touchdowns in 2018 while spending 40% of his snaps in the slot. He also averaged 15.2 yards per catch in 16 games a year ago.
Although Hogan has different skillsets than Moore and Samuel, he believes that versatility throughout the room will be beneficial to the Panthers.
“I think when you have multiple weapons at your disposal, it helps your offense,” Hogan said. “As an offensive coordinator and as a coach, I think it’s exciting we can put guys in different positions as we have a lot of playmakers on this team and a lot of explosive guys capable of making plays.”
On Thursday, Hogan will be in a familiar situation as the Panthers will visit the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. While playing with Tom Brady, Hogan averaged 550 receiving yards and four touchdowns per season. If he has that kind of production with the Panthers, it will be a massive plus – those numbers would have been the second-most among Panthers wide receivers last season.
Meanwhile, Hogan says it will be fun playing against his former teammates. However, Hogan understands the third preseason game of 2019 is a business trip.
“I mean, it’s always fun,” Hogan said. “Even during the regular season – seeing guys that you played with. I created a lot of friendships and relationships on that team. So obviously before the game, it will be fun to see those guys. I think they know and I know when it comes down to playing football, it’s football. We can talk afterwards.”
