The start of the Panthers’ offseason program marked the official return to the roster for wide receivers Jalen Coker and Brycen Tremayne.
Coker and Tremayne both signed their exclusive rights free agent tender offers on Monday. Both players were barred from negotiating with other teams once the Panthers tendered them, so their return was all but certain well before the deals were formally finalized.
Coker had 33 catches for 394 yards and three touchdowns in 11 regular season appearances last season. He also had nine catches for 134 yards and a score in the team’s playoff loss to the Rams.
Tremayne had 14 catches for 160 yards in 16 games last season. He also made 15 tackles on special teams.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
The Panthers visited with some of the top wide receiver prospects in this year’s draft class and those meetings have led to questions about whether they will actually use a first-round pick on a wideout for the third straight season.
Panthers General Manager Dan Morgan fielded that exact query at a Tuesday press conference. Morgan took Xavier Legette in 2024 and offensive rookie of the year Tetairoa McMillan was last year’s top pick, but Morgan said that their presence isn’t going to keep Carolina from tripling down if the board falls that way at No. 19.
“No. I think with anything, we’re going to take the best player,” Morgan said, via the team’s website. “So if the best player we feel is that at 19, I wouldn’t hesitate to draft another wideout. I don’t think there’s a rule that says you can’t draft a wide receiver three years in a row. So I’m not really going to box us in and say we’re not going to draft him.”
Morgan is correct about the lack of a rule prohibiting the use of three straight first-round picks on receivers. The Lions did it with Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams from 2003-2005 and went 16-32 over those seasons. They then went back to the well in 2007 to take Calvin Johnson in a move that worked out far better than the previous three choices.
The Lions’ history is unlikely to have much bearing on Morgan’s ultimate decision, especially if there’s a player available that the Panthers believe will help quarterback Bryce Young continue to ascend in his third season.
The Panthers indicated back in January that they were planning on exercising quarterback Bryce Young’s fifth-year option for 2027 this spring.
While that hasn’t happened quite yet, General Manager Dan Morgan said on Tuesday that it will occur soon.
“Once the draft’s over, we’ll definitely get that going,” Morgan said in his press conference. “Obviously, the player’s not in the building yet. … We’ll get that done as soon as he gets back in the building.”
Carolina’s offseason program begins next week on Monday, April 20. With the draft beginning next Thursday, it stands to reason that the Panthers will officially pick up Young’s option within the next two weeks.
Based on his playing time, Young is projected to earn $25.904 million guaranteed on the fifth-year option in 2027. Beyond that, it’s unclear what kind of long-term deal Young could command.
Young helped lead the Panthers to the postseason for the first time in his career in 2025, completing 63.6 percent of his passes for 3,011 yards with 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He finished the postseason loss to the Rams 21-of-40 for 264 yards with one TD and one pick.
The Panthers are meeting with another one of the draft’s top wide receivers on Thursday.
Field Yates of ESPN reports that they have Denzel Boston in for a visit. Former Indiana wideout Omar Cooper Jr. also visited with the team this week while Boston has met with a number of teams while making the pre-draft rounds.
Boston caught 125 passes for 1,715 yards and 20 touchdowns while playing for Jedd Fisch at Washington the last two seasons. Carolina’s 2025 first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan also played for Fisch for two seasons when Fisch was the head coach at Arizona. Fisch and Panthers head coach Dave Canales were also on the same Seahawks staff in 2010.
The Panthers also took Xavier Legette in the first round in 2024 and the team has never selected wideouts in the first round in three straight drafts.
