The Carolina Panthers weren’t able to pull off an upset over the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round over the weekend. And while it was another inconsistent showing from QB Bryce Young, Carolina’s top wide receivers, Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker, showed up. While McMillan was a first-rounder out of Arizona, Coker comes from humble beginnings at Holy Cross as an undrafted free-agent find.
Matt Harmon and Scott Pianowski discuss Coker’s prospects for 2026 after his coming-out party on January 10 versus the Rams.
Advertisement
In the loss, Coker posted a 9-134-1 line on 12 targets to lead the Panthers in all of those categories. Harmon states how he’s always been a fan of Coker and that the 24-year-old isn’t just some UDFA — he’s got legitimate talent. So Harmon is very excited about Coker in 2026 and beyond.
Pianowski points out how we all watch these playoff games together on social media and whatnot. So when managers and draftees get into rooms this offseason, they will all remember this game when Coker’s name pops up on their screens. Pianowski would have liked Coker to perform like this when no one is watching, but is also excited about the wideout moving forward.
Coker missed the first six games of the regular season due to a quad injury. He took a few weeks to get back up to speed and saw his snap count slowly rise over Weeks 8 and 9. Coker would score his first TD of the season, against these same Rams, during the upset win in Week 13. He also scored in Week 15 coming off the Panthers’ bye and finished the season with 33 catches for 394 yards and three TDs, playing a little over half a season.
Advertisement
Yahoo analyst Justin Boone released his initial look at 2026 wide receiver rankings. He has Coker ranked as the WR56 overall in half-PPR formats. Boone has Coker at WR54 in his dynasty and trade value chart.