The strongest position group for the Carolina Panthers in 2020 is their wide receiver corps. They won’t be judged based on how deep they are compared to the rest of the roster, though. What matters is how capable their passing weapons are compared to other NFL teams.
According to Pro Football Focus this is a strong group. They just released their rankings of every receiver corps in the league this year and Carolina’s came in at No. 8 on their list. Here’s what they said.
“D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel provide a nice one-two punch, and the addition of Robby Anderson only strengthens the group. Anderson dealt with shaky accuracy downfield in New York, but he has earned a whopping 112 targets 20 or more yards downfield since 2016 (fifth in NFL). Add in Christian McCaffrey — the most valuable running back in the NFL since 2017 in terms of PFF WAR largely because of his contributions as a receiver — and the Panthers receiving corps sticks out as the strength of their team.”
The Buccaneers and the Chiefs came in at the top of PFF’s list, followed by the Cowboys.
While it’s hard to deny that those teams have more firepower overall (especially when we’re counting tight ends as PFF has) these Panthers probably could have ranked a little higher in our opinion.
Teams like the Lions (No. 7), and Saints (No. 4) have formidable two-headed monsters, but for our money there’s no better 1-2-3 at wide receiver in the NFL right now than D.J. Moore, Curtis Samuel and Robby Anderson. Carolina also has the best pass-catching running back in football by far, so eight seems just a little low.
What might be holding them down is a lack of a playmaker at tight end. Ian Thomas is no Greg Olsen and his drop rate is a major concern if he’s going to have a significant role in Joe Brady’s new offense. Thomas needs to soften his hands and develop into a stud receiver or else the team will have to find another way to upgrade at this spot.
If they do, their receiver group (WR/RB/TE) can compete with anybody’s.
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