Chris, give me a name. Who leads the team in receiving yards this season? Carolina Panthers, who leads the team in receiving yards, not receptions, but receiving yards this season. Give me a name. Go ahead, go ahead and say it, man. It’s gonna be Nalo. So, TMac himself. It’s gonna be Nalo. He’s gonna do it. Uh, Bryce has his guy. Bryce has his guy, and from what we saw earlier this week, it’s Dan Morgan’s guy too. Let’s get this soccer started. Get dialed in Panthers fans. Here comes an in-depth look at your team. Exclusive interviews, locker room insight. Let’s huddle up for Panthers playbook. Here are your hosts, Dennis Cox and Chris Lee. Welcome back to another episode of Panthers Playbook. That’s Chris Lee, Dennis Cox here with you. Leave your thoughts in the comments down below. Who leads the Panthers in receiving yards this season? Again, yards, not necessarily receptions, but receiving yards this season, Chris. And the reason why I bring that up is because the guy that you mentioned, Tedderro McMillan. As you guy, you think that’s gonna lead this team in receiving yards this season, from what we saw on Panthers blueprint released earlier this week by the Panthers themselves, it looked like #4 was the guy that picked #8 all along. Listen, I gotta throw up my diamonds right here, you know what I’m saying? Alright? Blueprint, Jay-Z, that’s why I’m throwing up the little diamond to Rockefeller. Alright, you know what I’m saying? So, anyway, if you don’t know about the Blueprint album, I love Blueprint album, so because of the blueprint, I had to put that out there. Nalo is gonna do it, um, and I think it’s gonna be because, uh, especially if he’s healthy the entire season, that’s gonna be a big part of it. Um, but I think he’s gonna get open. I think he’s going to be able to catch if he’s not open. I think Bryce Young is going to throw it to him. These guys already have a rapport, and I think it’s gonna look good. I think it’s going to work out and uh if it’s not him. My next choice, Xavier Liguet, because I’m putting some belief in uh number 17. I feel like, um, you know, some of the offseason that he’s had, even though he’s been blowing up as a star, he’s also been putting that work in, according to head coach Dave Canales, and I think That some of the drops that he had last year, he’ll fix that. He’s got, he got open last year. He’ll know how to do that a little bit more in the year #2 and be a little bit more savvy. So I think he’ll push Nao uh for that number 2 spot. Those two guys, I think are going to eat very much so this year in the Carolina Panthers. So Adam Fielen last year, despite only playing in 10 games, led the team in receiving yards last year with 615. Well, second in reception is actually behind Xavier Lee get. This is where I think about yards, yards per catch, yards per reception, I think is gonna be a big thing. And this is, uh, one of the reasons why they brought in. Center McMillan. One of the reasons why they drafted him is because he can stretch the field. He can get downfield. He can make contested catches against other defensive backs and his ability to actually catch and run when he does make those plays downfield. I think the, the yards per reception for McMillan is going to be significantly higher than most other guys on the roster this year. Rhilan last year was 12.8. He was second on the team. You know, actually led the team in, in yards per reception last year. It was actually Jalen Coker at 14.9, believe it or not. Xavier Leggett was 10.8 yards per catch. I expect to see McMillan with the volume of targets that he’s gonna get to be in that 15 or so range this year, 14 to 15 yards per catch. See, I, I kind of feel like he’ll have in the, he’ll be in like the 10 to 12 range, and the Panthers will be able to get it to him a lot within that range. Of course, he’ll stretch the field some and all that, but I’m thinking yards per reception. Um, You know, the leader is either gonna be um Legette, or I would even say maybe Hunter Remfro. I if Renfros even on the team, that’s the thing. I think Renfro and and in my mind, I think he tried to find a spot for Renfro. Yeah, I, I think he tried to, especially if he’s, if he’s playing well in practice, we don’t know what practice looks like, but I’m thinking, you know, Las Vegas Raiders, uh, Hunter Refro understanding he missed last year, he had a, he had a condition. He’s sick, he’s trying to get back to himself. But if he’s back to that Hunter Remfro, you find a spot for that guy. I’ll have to look up and see here what his yards for reception was, you know, compared to, you know, and in his career, especially when those prime year back, you know, with 2021 when he had that. But I’m thinking that, again, we get last year was 10.1 yards per catch. This is the guy that’s supposed to be the catching run guy, right, with his speed and everything that he had. Uh, that’s the reason why I’m gonna say that McMillan is gonna probably lead the team in yards per reception. So again, that’s the down. It’s the downfield ability that you want to see from, from, from MacMillan. It’s the big playability that they drafted him for. If he’s in the 10 to 1112 range, that’s just a possession receiver, which is what Adam Thielen was. Adam Thielen was 12.8 last year. I fully expect to have more yards per catch this year from Tetarola McMillan for sure. I think the reason why I feel that way is because like he, he doesn’t seem to be. The big separator. Now, That could change. We’ll see how he schemed up. A lot of it’s gonna be dependent on scheme as well, and the defenses he faces, cause you could 100% be correct, but also you have a 6 ft 4 body, probably matched up against a maybe 5’11, 6 ft, 6’1. Uh, DB and he, you know, what had no drops last year, right? And, you know, pretty much caught everything that came around his radius. He’s big, he’s long, and he can get that. I’m thinking that’s the perfect guy in a possession type of style as Adam Thielen’s kind of getting older, he’s gonna be on his way out, and they’re probably, probably gonna phase him out, especially if the young guys are stepping up. That’s the perfect guy. Hey, Bryce, it’s 3rd and 4th, we need this. Nalo hit this route, boom, right here out of bounds, you know what I’m saying, like he might be that perfect guy for that. So that’s why I’m thinking he’ll probably get a lot of those, which will mean that he’ll probably lead them in yards, reception yards uh or reception yards. And then, but he won’t have the yards per reception, if that makes sense. And I’m thinking if it works out, if he has a good year and is uh healthy the entire year. Maybe a 7 to 800 yard season, his first year. I don’t, I don’t see 1000 for any receiver on this team right now, um, you know, just mainly because if everybody’s healthy and if Dave Canal starts spreading it out the way I think he will be, um, there’ll be too many guys with receptions for anybody, any one person to get 1000. So Hunter Remfro that his his best year back in 2021, his yards per reception was 10.1. OK, so yeah, so like, again, that’s, he works in the short and intermediate, I think again. Something that we could see McMillan be able to get down the field. I think he’s right. You could, you could be right for sure. He’s not the burner, but again, like on a twelve-yard crossing route, he’s gonna come down with the ball and he’s gonna get some yards after the catch. Speaking of numbers, I can actually get some numbers for you, Chris. Throw them at me. So I went ahead and did the research. If you go back to the 2021 draft class, 2021, I looked at wide receivers drafted in the top 10, going back to 2021. That’s Jamar Chase, Jaylen Waddle, Devonte Smith in 2021. They went 5th, 6th, and 10th respectively. 2022, 8th overall was Drake London. 10th overall was Garrett Wilson. No first, I’m sorry, no top 10 wide receivers drafted in 2023. And then in 2024, you have Marvin Harrison, Junior. Malik Neighbors, and Roma Doonsday. So those 8 players drafted in the top 10 as wide receivers over the last 4 drafts. Again, I’m not gonna count McMillan because I’m trying to do a comparative here. So if you look at those 8 receivers, I looked at strictly their rookie seasons, just their rookie year stats. You had 4 guys reach 1000 yards as rookies. Jamar Chase and Jaylen Waddle did it in 2021. Garrett Wilson did it in 2022 as a rookie, and Malik Neighbors did it this past year with the Giants with 1,204 yards. All four of those guys, 1000 yards plus, the lowest of that being Jalen Waddle with 1,0015. You also look at total receptions as well. You had 4 guys. With 80+ receptions. Jamar Chase with 81, you had Jalen Waddle with 104, Garrett Wilson with 83, and the league neighbors last year with 109. OK. So you had 4 guys, 80+ yards, 4, 100, I’m sorry, 1000 + yards receiving, and also you had 4 guys with 6+ touchdowns. Dear Chase had 13, Jaylen Waddle had 6, Marvin Harrison Junior had 8, Malik Nebors had 7. So if you actually take a look at the average of all eight of those players, took the average number of receptions, average number of yards, average number of touchdowns between those 6. I’m sorry, those guys. You had 78.6 receptions, 1,0022.3 yards, and 6.25 touchdowns. Federal MacMillan puts up that sold. You know, if you tell me before the year, I’m in. I’m in on that for that, for his rookie season. Now keep in mind, these are, again, just 8 players drafted top 10 over the last 4 years. You do have the Jamar Chase 1,455 yards, and you have the Roma Doomsday 734 yards. Roma Doomsday actually had the worst stats out of all these guys. 54 catches, 734 yards, 3 touchdowns. The lowest numbers out of all of those guys. Everyone else was 60+ catches, over 860 yards, and at least 4 touchdowns. I mean, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility this season as a rookie. If, for example, he was what Devote Smith stat line, 64 catches, 916 yards, 5 touchdowns. I don’t think that’s out of the realm of possibility at all this season for Teddero McMillan. See, that’s about what I expect from him being a top 10, uh, pick as a wide receiver, uh, give or take, uh, here or there. So again, I, I probably would expect in the 700 to 800 range, cause I’m not expecting as much of the downfield as you are, but I have a little bit higher expectation as far as touchdowns. Not as, not as much, but I’m thinking, you know, 7 or 8 should be good, because he should be in positions a few times this upcoming season. Um, where Panthers are within the red zone, and hey, we’re gonna give you this ball and you just have to outjump everybody and come down with it, right? He should be in that, in that, you know, position a few times this year, uh, and that should get him a few touchdowns. So I’m thinking a little bit more on the touchdown side. I think what you said 6.5 was the average for those guys. I, so I’m going a little higher there, I’m going a little bit lower for, um, you know, the, the total yards, but again, what you just put out there is pretty much in the range of what I would kind of expect for him if, you know, he may not necessarily hit that, I still like it, but if he’s way below all of that. Oh. Either the Panthers restore or something is going on with Nalo. So and also this is if he plays, I would say at least 14 games, right? So we health is a major factor and obviously in all of this as well. But again, I, I bring that up. Look at Devonte Smith, that stat line that I just mentioned, the 64 catches, 916 yards. That’s about just over 14 yards per reception. Yeah, so I mean, and then all the, the whole he’s that type of receivers. He’s a burner. He’s that type of receiver. He’s a burner. He’s a burner, but yes, obviously you look at, you know, Jamar Chase, 1,455 yards, 81 receptions. Again, that’s high number. Just those averages I gave you, Chris, the 7. catches, 1,0022 yards. That’s 13 yards a catch. Again, that’s also being like pulled down by the Roma Doomsday, 54 catches and 734 yards. So again, like you’re still looking at 13+ yards per catch, and I think that’s. I yeah, I think he’s probably more in that 14 range. But the question is, who’s gonna be playing alongside him? All right. How does Xavier Liguette handle this season? Does he stay healthy? had the procedure on his foot during the offseason. What does Jalen Coker missed the lack of a better term, missed some time, but worked off on the side earlier in OTA’s dealing with the soft tissue injury, but looks like earlier this week, he was back in some individual drills, didn’t do any of the team stuff. But then we hear the news of Tommy Trumbull, the tight end that was signed to a contract extension this offseason, just recently had back surgery, and Chris, this is kind of concerning for me when you hear a coach say, a player might not be available at the start of training camp and probably won’t see him until the end of preseason, which means you gotta rely on 2nd year tight end Jatavi and Sanders, who you and I are very high on, and then a rookie in Mitchell Evans, a 5th round pick this year out of Notre Dame. Yeah, um, first off, I hope Tommy Trimble is OK and, um, you know, attacks this rehab, uh, in a great way and is able to be available for within the first few weeks of the season, you know, if he’s able to come back, uh, in the preseason, I’m sure they may, if they, unless they really need him in the first game, may kind of have to hold him back just to make sure he’s back in playing shape since he’s not gonna have a training camp it looks like. Um, but this is what I say, great opportunity for Jata and Sanders. Uh, he took a challenge from Coach Canalas, came back 10 pounds lighter, has been attacking this offseason. Coach Canales wants him to be faster on the field, so that’s why he lost a little bit of weight, and I think that he went through enough last year, highs and lows, to understand what the NFL is and what I have to do as a tight end. Also, you know, you, you mentioned it, Mitchell Evans, you don’t wanna really have to rely on a 5th round, uh, rookie tight end, uh, for, for, you know, what whatever you need tight ends to do. But this is a great opportunity for him. Remember, he was, well, he had the quickest time, uh, in the the short um 10 yard split 10 yard split for uh at the at the combine. Um, so, you know, we’ll see what he, you talking about short possession receiver, that could possibly be where the Panthers could use him, uh, as well in that short intermediate range, um, and, you know, hopefully he’s, he is that guy. Um, I’m not expecting like large numbers, but hey, you’re able to bring in. 250, 300 yards for us this season, maybe 2 or 3 touchdowns or so like that, you know, maybe only 2. Hey, I, it’s Good year, Rook for Mitchell Evans, yeah, yeah, we’ll take that and and come back, but also you got a block well and things like that. So, uh, this is a great opportunity for those young guys, and I think this is kind of like one of those blessings in the guise. Um, I hate, you know, trying to, you know, take another sport and bring it across to do a comparison, but me and you were just covering the Carolina Hurricanes. Hurricanes are a lot younger than the Florida Panthers, the team that eliminated them from, uh, the playoffs. But those young guys, they played 4 rookies. I don’t think there were any rookies for the Panthers. Those 4 rookies got a chance to see what it was like, and now as the as the Hurricanes are getting uh more experience, they go into the next uh couple of seasons, those rookies understand what level you have to take it to much earlier, and they can be able to take a step up. Losing Tommy Trimble early on. Maybe gives those young guys in 2nd year, Jata and Sanders, and we heard, I don’t know if you watched Car Talk with um JJ Jansen, but he was saying, you know, you have your rookie year, and then I think he said 3 or 4 games into your um your second year, you’re still a rookie in the NFL in everybody’s eyes. Uh, so we’re gonna call Jata and Sanders a rookie until week 5, according to JJ Jansen, because that’s what they do in the locker room. That’s what they do in the locker room apparently. Um, but Jata Sanders still in his rookie year and Mitchell Evans as a rookie, if Tommy Trimble can’t go at the beginning of the season, great opportunity for them to step up, and I really hope that coach Canalis is gonna get them ready. I feel like he will though. We saw some flashes last year in the middle part of the year for Tta and Sanders. I remember the game against Atlanta, you and I were there at 28 to 20 loss. He had 5 catches for 49 yards. It 7 targets in that game. You and I were also there when they beat New Orleans at home, where he had 4 catches for 87 yards, and we saw that playmaking ability from him. even saw the. Game against Kansas City. We had 3 catches for 49 yards all in the first half, and then he had that neck injury and knocked him out for the rest of the game. He was inactive the next week and then the rest of the season, he only caught 4 passes the rest of the way. Didn’t really get a lot of targets up until the end of the season in that final game on the road at Atlanta. So that kind of slowed things down for Sanders this year. You and I are really high on him, his athletic ability, we lashes were the playmaking. It’s, it’s, it’s there. It’s all about putting it together. You talk about Young. Deta and Sanders 2nd gear. This is who’s gonna be relied upon to start the year. 2nd year tota and Sanders at tight end, Rookie Mitchell Evans at tight end, wide receiver, rookie Tero McMillan, 2nd gear guy, Xavier Liguette, 2nd year guy Jalen Cooper. And then you also still have on rookie contract. Ikeyiquana. You still have 3rd year quarterback Bryce Young. You only have 5th year guy, Chuba Hubbard, 5th year guy Tommy Trimble. Yeah, you have the experienced vet and Adam, Adam Thielen, obviously. But the overall, the nucleus and core of this team, really young. It’s a really young group, especially at the skill positions. This team is growing together and it’s still a young play caller in Dave Canal. He’s only going into his 3rd year calling plays in the NFL. There’s still a lot that these guys have to grow and gain and learn. I think that has me excited. It has a lot of Panthers fans excited, obviously. I love it. Was it last year or the year before where the Panthers were one of the oldest teams in the NFL? It was just a couple of years ago. So like now you get a lot younger, um, and look, that’s gonna come with growing pains as well. That’s why I like, I’m not expecting, uh, 10+ wins. I’m not expecting that because, you know, they’re you’re gonna have some guys who are gonna have growing pains. There’s going to be a game or two. Where we’re gonna look at Nalo, or some people, not me, some people are gonna look at Nalo and say, why do we do the 8th pick on him, right? Like, one, I understood why he was picked as high. I didn’t agree with it at first because I thought we were gonna get defense, but when they did what they did in the 2nd round, it’s like, OK, that makes the 1st round pick good, but he’s for sure, uh, a top pick. He’s gonna have a game or two where it’s not gonna look good, and let’s add in Jimmy Horn here. Uh, because I think, I think he’s gonna, I think he’s gonna get some burn and have some opportunity in his offense as well, along with with Jalen Coker and X Xavier Legat, who are still very young. Those guys may have a few games that will look like a sophomore slump. So we’re gonna have to be uh very patient uh with these guys, but It’s not wrong to have high expectations, um, because, you know, because you do have a year under you, we get, Coker, Sanders, we expect the highs to be a little bit higher. We expect the lows to be a little bit higher. We don’t want that floor to be what it was last year, right? You have that gap. You need to narrow that just a little bit. And um of course, you know, the first year guys are gonna have some troubles, but this also sets up a perfect opportunity for Bryce Young to be the leader he needs to be because he’s gonna be the older guy with this young receiving corps. Take out Renfro, take out Liget, uh, I’m sorry, not Lit, take out uh Thelan, uh, take out David Moore, right? take out Trimble. Let’s leave those guys out of it. Look at all the young guys that are gonna be surrounding him, right? A lot of youth. Bryce Young is the experience in that area, in that in that group. So, great opportunity for him to learn how to pick guys up when they’re down. So that’s gonna be something else that’s gonna be placed on his shoulders that we’re gonna have to look out for as well. It’s like our own version of the Young and the Restless, yes. We should play that at the end of the young and the rest. My grandmother loved that. There you go. Again, Leave your thoughts to the comments. who leads this team in receiving yards this season? I’m with you. I’m gonna go with McMillan as well, by the way. I think McMillan is gonna be the guy 4 in the 4. Hey man, um. Panthers, anytime you want to use this for blueprint, anytime you want to use this for anything else, you’re always welcome. Hey, listen, Greg Bosham, like, he’s he’s great, he’s great. Over there, he’s leading them, uh, when it comes down to their content. He’s a, he’s an amazing guy. Keep doing your thing, Greg. Love it. Love to see it. Thank you all for watching and tuning in, tapping in this week. Thank y’all for tooting we’ll see y’all next week.
