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Thank you for answering my previous question I sent. I showed it to my kids, and they thought I was the coolest person ever for like a whole hour! Anyway I've been hearing a lot of fans say we should draft a WR. I personally like our WR room and think the only thing it needs is a true No. 1 target that scares defenses. That being said, I also hear that this isn't the best WR draft class to find that type of player. Wouldn't it make more sense to run with what we have and see if Xavier Legette or Jalen Coker can take that step this season? If they can't take that step, maybe there will be better options next year. — Garrett, Ithaca, NY
Man, the Panthers should absolutely use a first-round pick on a wide receiver. Oh wait, they did that last year, and they still need to fix other stuff.
I'm not sure how it happened, but "No. 1 wide receiver" became a talking point this offseason. Last time I checked, Bryce Young was dealing out there last year with a couple of rookies, an old guy who still seems to have it in Adam Thielen, and a trusted veteran fourth wideout in David Moore. So would it be cool to have a Ja'Marr Chase or a Justin Jefferson? Of course. But those guys aren't available all that often, and when they are, they're very expensive. The only thing worse than not having a one is overpaying a two out of desperation. And, as we may have mentioned, the Panthers had other needs this offseason, so they couldn't focus on that one thing.
This was the year to spend the money upgrading the defense because, as you might have heard, it was historically bad last year. They gave up the most points in league history (534), averaging 31.4 points per game allowed.
The league average was 22.9 points per game. If the Panthers had allowed exactly 23 points in every game, they'd have been 4-3-1 in the final eight games. So the point isn't that they have to make this defense into the 1985 Bears (or even the 2002-03 or 2015 Panthers), they just have to get it better. And if you can do that, those strides the offense made last year should reasonably continue, with an intact offensive line, continuity of coaching, an improving quarterback, and the addition of another legit rushing option in Rico Dowdle to go with Chuba Hubbard and a tight end position centered around Ja'Tavion Sanders and Tommy Tremble. Plus, if you find a receiver who can run (to go along with Xavier Legette and his 4.39 40) in the middle rounds of this draft, that passing game can continue to evolve.
Also, we mentioned this last week, but there's very little Dave Canales enjoys more than developing young players. He has thoughts on it if you have time.
So yes, I think the appropriate play this season was to plug the holes in the bottom of the defensive boat, bail as much water as you can, and keep rowing steadily in the direction you're pointing. If you can add a sail later so you can really take off, great, but you've got to stop sinking first. And that's what this offseason has been and ought to continue to be about. This was never a one-year fix, so making big investments for long-term pieces is an unusual call. With all the deals they've struck, they're still very flexible for the future. They have 68 players under contract at the moment, but only 16 through 2027 or beyond.
The best thing is having a bunch of players who are good at football. The next best thing is having flexibility and options.
So yeah, Garrett, I'm with you. Tell the kids. And if they thought you were cool before, wait until they find out you're this week's Friend Of The Mailbag. When that T-shirt arrives, you will immediately turn into Miles Davis.