Hard working. Confident. Hungry. Smart.
These are the words that were consistently thrown around the Panthers’ locker room when players were asked to describe the newest addition to the active roster, second-year wideout Mose Frazier. From offensive coordinator Mike Shula to Ed Dickson to Cam Newton, everyone had compliments for the player who spent time last season on three different team’s practice squads before signing a futures contract with the Panthers in January. But it was one comparison that will have Panthers fans salivating about the undrafted free agent from the University of Memphis.
“He’s a greedy guy. He’s a mini-Steve Smith,” said Devin Funchess with a grin. “He’s got that type of attitude, that type of chip on his shoulder. He wants to be known, that’s the type of guy he is; that’s the type of guy you’re going to see.”
Indeed, Frazier shares not only the attitude and comparatively diminutive stature (Smith was 5’9″, 185 pounds and Frazier stands 5’11”, 190) of Smith, but also the soft hands and quick feet that made the brash former Panther a favorite target of his quarterbacks throughout his 16-year career; it’s Frazier’s versatility and ability to play multiple positions that has made him valuable as the Panthers wide receivers continue to drop like flies.
Like Smith before him, Frazier made headlines in OTAs this preseason by engaging in extracurricular activities, getting into a fight and taking a swing at Pro Bowl linebacker and former NFL defensive player of the year Luke Kuechly; that’s just part of the package that comes with a fiery player like Frazier, and it’s not the first time a wideout has tried to scrap with Kuechly.
“He’s a competitor. He’s a competitive guy; I did the same thing last year at Fan [Fest] with Luke,” said Funchess about Frazier’s training camp scrum. “He’s a competitor, he doesn’t want to lose. That’s just who he is; that’s the type of guy you’re going to get. He’s a nifty guy in the slot; on the outside, he’s going to set somebody up for a route; he’s that guy.”
While Funchess may think that Frazier compares favorably to the most popular wide receiver in Panthers history, Ron Rivera thinks he actually has a similar story to burgeoning fan favorite Damiere Byrd, whose lower leg injury will allow Frazier to stay on the roster. From undrafted free agent to practice squad player to the active roster, Frazier and Byrd have followed analagous paths; like Byrd, one of the things coaches like about Frazier is his ability to contribute at multiple positions.
Offensive coordinator Mike Shula indicated that Frazier will be the backup at multiple positions on Sunday in Atlanta and moving forward into the playoffs; a versatile player that can be a factor across the line of scrimmage is going to have value, and even though he only saw four offensive snaps after Damiere Byrd went down on Sunday, his role will continue to grow as he becomes more confident in the offense.
“You get a guy that works very hard; he’s got a tremendous skillset in terms of [being a] good route-runner, good quickness underneath, good hands, good focus and concentration, a smart guy. He’s getting an opportunity and hopefully he’ll take advantage of it.”
–Ron Rivera
“He’s just got to go play,” said Shula. “He’s really consistent, [knows] a lot of stuff, really sure-handed. Everybody’s going to have a learning curve once you get on the playing field, his is going to have to be pretty quick.”
While fans may not have seen Frazier throughout the season, he has been there. In the meetings, on the practice field, watching film and learning the game plan each week has helped Frazier grow from an undersized wideout who was rumored to have made the Broncos practice squad because of his relationship with his college quarterback Paxton Lynch to someone who can contribute at all wide receiver slots.
Fellow wide receiver Brenton Bersin was quick to point out that Frazier has been on the roster longer than Bersin himself; in fact, the only receiver with a longer consecutive tenure is Devin Funchess. Frazier believes that consistency and time spent is what ultimately gave him his chance to make an NFL roster.
“Everyday you get a chance to be on the [practice] squad, you get a chance to go against the best,” Frazier told The Riot Report this week. “You work on your craft, and in the meeting rooms, you’ve got to pay attention as far as what the game plan is each week. I did a very good job each week of preparing like I was playing, so whenever my time was to come, I’d be ready.”
His time certainly has come; he’s not the only one with a chance to shine in a wide receivers’ room that, while devoid of household names, is not short on confidence. “We’ve got a bunch of young guys, myself included, that want to prove that we belong in this league, that we play a big part in this offense’s success and we want to show what we can do,” said 27-year old Russell Shepard, having become the unlikely elder statesman in a group decimated by injuries. “We don’t have a lot of superstar mentalities in this room.”
“We’ve got a bunch of guys that nobody knew about, that came off the street. We believe in each other, we believe that we can make a difference on this team; we believe that we can make every play when an opportunity presents itself.”
“You’ve got a lot of hungry guys in that receiving room right now that are ready to prove themselves. Proving it to the outside world is irrelevant; proving it to themselves and to this team is more important.”
–Cam Newton
–Video Clip Courtesy NFL.com
