The Panthers aren’t scheduled to make any picks during the first round on Thursday night, but they have two picks early in the second round and there’s a strong feeling that they will be adding a wide receiver with one of them.
Current members of the receiving corps have different reactions to that possibility. Adam Thielen saw the Vikings add multiple first-round wideouts during his time in Minnesota and he said on Wednesday that he welcomes the chance to build a relationship with a new teammate that can help them succeed.
“There’s just been a lot of guys that we’ve drafted high and high expectations and I really enjoy that part of the game to really just help them where I need to help them,” Thielen said, via the team’s website. “I think that’s the most important thing in anything you’re doing. It’s building those relationships first and then you can be a mentor. A lot of people want to be the mentor first and it’s like, no, no, just build a relationship, earn that trust and then be a mentor and then you can kind of speak life and football into someone when you have that relationship.”
Ihmir Smith-Marsette was not a first-rounder when he joined Thielen on the Vikings in 2021 and he’s bounced around the league over his first three seasons. He earned a role as a receiver and punt returner in Carolina last year and is less enthusiastic about the prospect of new blood in the position group than his more experienced teammate.
“I take it personally, I won’t lie to you,” Smith-Marsette said. “I’m tired of getting people put in front of me, put in front of me, put in front of me, of course, I get annoyed at that. But I mean, it’s just football at the end of the day and I’m going to show that I belong in this league again . . . it adds fuel to the fire cause it’s like, I got to go out there and prove myself.”
Smith-Marsette will likely have to get comfortable with new faces and the Panthers will benefit if the next few days lead to a rising tide across the entire group in 2024.
Former South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette said this week that the Panthers told him they’re “really hoping I can make it the second round” and that they plan to take him with the 33rd overall pick on Friday night.
Legette’s words might have led to a sense of deja vu from other prospects who expect to hear their name called this week. Panthers head coach Dave Canales was asked about Legette’s comments on Wednesday and he confirmed that he said that to the wideout. Canales then said Legette had plenty of company when it came to hearing those things from the team.
“Oh yeah, I said that to him, and 50 other guys,” Canales said, via Darin Gantt of the team’s website.
Legette says he’s felt a growing relationship with the Panthers over the course of the pre-draft process, but that’s no guarantee that they’ll actually be taking him given the opportunity. And it will work out well for Legette if they don’t even get the chance because that will mean the wideout is a first-round pick.
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson wasn’t on the Panthers last season, but he knows the year did not play out the way anyone in Carolina hoped.
The top of the list of things that didn’t pan out was quarterback Bryce Young. The first overall pick of last year’s draft failed to catch fire during his rookie season and the team is hoping that a change in head coaches and an offseason spent bolstering the roster sends things in a different direction.
Johnson fits into the heart of those plans. The Panthers traded cornerback Donte Jackson to the Steelers in exchange for the wideout and Johnson said on Tuesday that he knows he’s in Carolina to make Young better and “help him grow.”
“Just a guy that can get open, just give him a sense of comfort when he’s back there knowing he has a guy that can get open anywhere on the field,’' Johnson said, via David Newton of ESPN.com. “That’s what I’m here to do, to make plays.’'
Johnson is in the final year of his contract and said he’s “not worried about a contract extension now.” Forging a strong connection with Young would help on that front, so it makes sense that it is the top priority at this point in the offseason.
The Panthers will be holding a voluntary minicamp this week and that will be quarterback Bryce Young’s first chance to do on-field work with the team since the end of his rookie season.
That rookie season started with high hopes after Young was selected first overall, but little went right after that. The Panthers went 2-15, they fired head coach Frank Reich during the season and Young struggled to run the offense throughout the regular season.
Young acknowledges that it wasn’t the ideal way to start a professional career, but said he views it as a chance to learn as he moves into his first season playing for new head coach Dave Canales.
“I just want to be the best version I can,” Young said, via Darin Gantt of the team’s website. “Obviously, we have a lot of change in the system. New coaching staff, a couple of new pieces. So, it’s going to be a great opportunity for us to grow and build together. But, I think as a team, individually, all combined, I think we learned a lot and grew a lot. Obviously, it was not the year we wanted to have last year. But, you know, you’re able to learn from those experiences.”
There’s no way to redo Young’s rookie season, but no one in Charlotte will be worrying about that if the quarterback is able to resemble the player he was in college during his second pro season.
Wide receiver Xavier Legette played his college ball at South Carolina and he may not have to travel far to kick off his NFL career.
Legette said that he’s spent a lot of time with the Panthers over the course of the pre-draft process and that the team has suggested that they will be picking him if he remains on the board through the end of the first round on Thursday night.
“I’ve met with the Panthers about four or five times,” Legette said, via John Crumpler of USA Today. “The relationship, it just keeps continuing to grow. They’re really hoping I can make it the second round. They keep on telling me if I’m sitting at 33, they’re gonna take me.”
Legette had 71 catches for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns for the Gamecocks last season. If other teams want to see if that production translates to their offense, they may have to jump the Panthers to get a chance to see the wideout in their uniform.
