The Panthers have a lot of needs heading into the draft, especially on defense.
But given that they are largely expected to undergo something of a rebuilding process, they are likely to take a best-player-available approach to the draft, so which positions they end up addressing is hard to predict – especially after Matt Rhule hinted that they might not be as unlikely to draft an offensive player early in the draft as we might have originally thought.
“We got a lot of guys in free agency on offense. That doesn’t mean, though, in my mind at least, that we won’t draft a guy on offense,” Rhule said last week. “There’s a thought of, hey, just throw your fastball. If we’re really good on offense, we want to continue to look [there].”
That makes sense – in what is widely regarded as the deepest receiver class in a very long time, there is a good chance that at some point in the draft the best player left on the board is a receiver. While receiver is one of the positions the Panthers should be most optimistic about, with DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel looking to be one of the better young pairings in the NFL and Robby Anderson making for a fast and diverse three-receiver set, given that Joe Brady is expected to use at least three receivers on almost every snap and sometimes more, this is a position where the Panthers could also look to add some talent in next week’s draft.
So which prospects might make the most sense for the Panthers in the 2020 draft class, and where would the Panthers likely have to take them?
Jerry Jeudy, Alabama; 6-1, 193 pounds
Jeudy would be the premium option for the Panthers in the draft – and if they want him, they will either have to take him in the first half of the first round, possibly as high as the top 10. But with rumors swirling about other players, including Jeudy’s teammate Henry Ruggs III, passing the Alabama wideout on many team’s boards, Jeudy might be available if the Panthers trade back into the mid-to-late teens. While that would still seem to be a high price to pay for a receiver when you already have three good options on the roster, it’s worth noting that in any other draft class without quite so much receiver talent, Jeudy would likely be a consensus top 10 pick. In terms of why the Panthers might consider taking Jeudy, the answer is really quite simple: he can do things as a route runner that very few receivers are capable of.
While he lacks experience against press coverage, having largely played out of the slot at Alabama, and isn’t at his best when working to separate underneath at the route head, his ability to change direction will conserving momentum at speed is spectacular – he shows excellent hands and is good after the catch. Stylistically, he fits somewhere in-between Moore and Samuel, and while that doesn’t make him the most natural fit with the Panthers, if the Panthers were to draft him, they could ensure that on every passing snap, the opponent’s fourth-best coverage player was going to be covering one of him, Moore, Anderson and Samuel, and in the arms race of NFL receiving talent, this would put the Panthers right at the top.
Not to mention Curtis Samuel’s deal is expiring at the end of this season and Anderson is only signed through 2022.
Jeudy probably won’t be at the top of the Panthers’ draft board, and it would be hard to argue that he is the most valuable player in the draft – but it is also hard to argue that he is not the best receiver; while he isn’t the finished product that Amari Cooper and Odell Beckham were coming out of college, his ceiling is just as high – if not higher – and if the Panthers are going to play with three receivers on every snap, they could certainly get an awful lot of value out of Jeudy as a third receiver in a way that would cause defensive coordinators headaches all around the NFL.
Jalen Reagor, TCU; 5-11, 206 pounds
Jalen Reagor is a player who, in almost any other draft class, would be a consensus first-round pick, but may well fall as far as the Panthers pick in the second round. While he is not as polished as Jeudy, his ceiling is as high as any receiver in this draft class and in many ways it is hard not to be reminded of DJ Moore playing at Maryland when watching Reagor on tape. For a start, both players look like running backs with the ball in hand, and while Reagor is about an inch shorter than Moore, from a physical profile point of view, they match up pretty well as well.
The other reason why Reagor is reminiscent of Moore on tape is that he played with a relatively limited quarterback in college and a lot of his production was manufactured so as to make things as easy for the quarterback as possible – he was not asked to separate down the field against man coverage a ton because even when he was open, it was hard for the ball to get to him. This was the case for Moore as well, and as with Moore, there are still some routes on tape that show all that he can become – especially with his great change of direction and conservation of momentum through breaks. Reagor’s best plays aren’t quite on the same level as Moore’s in this regard, but the only player in this class for whom that isn’t the case is Jeudy, and while Reagor, like Moore, could take a little time to hit his stride, his upside is really exciting.
Of course, being quite so similar to Moore, Reagor’s fit in the Panthers’ receiver room would be more about giving defenses the problem of having to cover both players with similar skill sets rather than having an array of different skills to deal with. This might not be what the Panthers would ideally want stylistically from a receiver, but when they have the chance to be as good as Reagor, they might not mind.
Bryan Edwards, South Carolina; 6-3, 212 pounds
Edwards’ draft stock is all over the place at this point – some see him as a top 50 prospect and other a mid-round option – and with him missing much of the pre-draft process with a foot injury, it is going to be hard for those unsure about where he falls to narrow down his value. However, for those who are high on Edwards, this means that he could offer extraordinary value – for the Panthers, that would probably mean taking him in either the third or fourth round.
In terms of what Edwards offers a prospective team, he is arguably the most well-developed receiver prospect in the class, getting off the line well against press with excellent and subtle route running allowing him to generate consistent underneath separation – he also has enough vertical speed and after-catch ability to go with his ability to create receptions at the catch point for him to be viewed as one of the premier receivers in the class, even if he doesn’t get drafted like it. He might not produce a ton of 50-yard touchdown receptions in the NFL, but he is almost always open and when it comes to moving the ball on third downs and in the red zone, that is going to make him a hugely valuable piece for a passing attack.
Stylistically, Edwards is also probably the best fit with the Panthers’ current receivers. His ability to work underneath against man coverage should allow for Samuel, Anderson and Moore to offer more as deep and intermediate receivers – where they are at their best – while giving Teddy Bridgewater consistent options with the ball. He also offers value in the red zone where the Panthers have struggled in recent years and where his size would make a marked contract to the smaller Moore and Samuel. Edwards might not be the best receiver on this list, but he is probably the best fit for the Panthers in terms of skill set and expected draft position.
Van Jefferson, Florida; 6-1, 200 pounds
Van Jefferson is another prospect who could find himself the victim of an extraordinarily deep class, with most projections having him as an early day three prospect at this stage. While Jefferson is unlikely to ever become the star receiver for an NFL team, he does a lot of nice things and could be a really useful piece for a passing attack. While he was moved around a bit over the course of his college career, he looks best when operating out of the slot, and while he doesn’t offer a ton from a height-weight-speed point of view, he is a really crafty and subtle route runner and causes headaches for some of the better slot corners in college football.
For the Panthers, Jefferson is a natural replacement for Jarius Wright as somebody who can offer an underneath threat from the slot and who could come in handy in yard-to-gain situations. This is also something that would fit in both with the skill sets of Moore and Samuel as well as how Joe Brady looked to run his passing attack last year at LSU. Brady clearly values players who can work effectively underneath from the slot, with both Justin Jefferson and Thaddeus Moss being effective in this role. While both might be better overall players in their best uses, Van Jefferson is a far more natural fit for this role and in a passing attack with other weapons around him to draw attention, he could offer value working one-on-one.
Jefferson might not be the sexiest addition, and it’s unlikely that he ever amasses a 1,000 yard season as a pro, but especially if the Panthers don’t take a receiver at some point through the first three rounds, he would be a really useful piece as a #4 receiver who could well still be available when the Panthers pick on day three.
Lawrence Cager, Georgia; 6-5, 220 pounds
Cager has a lot of knocks on him as a pro prospect – he is somewhat on the older side, he has a reasonable injury history, and there is pretty good evidence on tape of what he can’t do. He is never going to be the most polished underneath route runner, and his 40 time is unlikely to have scouts salivating, but as somebody who is largely expected to be a late-round draft pick or even go undrafted, he can offer value as a rotational piece through what he can do, rather than what he can’t.
Cager offers an intriguing size matchup on the outside and shows good value at the catch point with surprising quickness off the line against press, and enough vertical speed to be more than just a moving tree. While he isn’t the most intricate route runner, he uses his frame well to wall off defenders on in-breaking underneath routes and has enough change of direction to offer some value on posts and dig routes to go with the usual go routes, slants and fades. In many ways, Cager is a quicker, more agile Kelvin Benjamin, even if he isn’t quite as spectacular at the catch point. Of course, that isn’t the happiest of memories for many Panther fans, but whereas Benjamin’s draft status created this expectation that he would be a major part of the passing game, Cager offers a chance to have more efficient production, if only through being used more sparingly in order to maximize his impact on the field.
In terms of his fit with the other receivers on the roster, Cager’s size offers a nice fit in the red zone, and while he isn’t going to be taking snaps away from Moore or Samuel, he has the potential to make at least some impact against defenders further down the depth chart. Cager is never going to be a star, but offers the specialist impact the Panthers have lacked throughout much of recent history.
The Panthers might draft one, none or several these prospects in the draft – who they take will likely depend just as much on what other teams think of the various options as on what the Panthers’ think, but this draft offers a number of interesting receiving options for the Panthers to consider, with the depth of the position group giving the Panthers a chance to add some much-needed receiving depth at a knockdown price.
For a team looking to add talent as the early stages of a rebuild, the 2020 receiver class is a wonderful opportunity, let’s hope the Panthers seize it.
(Top Photo Of Bryan Edwards Via Tim Dominick)
