{"id":706785,"date":"2026-01-26T17:02:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T17:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/706785\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T17:02:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T17:02:18","slug":"3-options-for-panthers-rumored-interest-in-fast-shifty-wide-receiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/706785\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Options for Panthers&#8217; Rumored Interest in &#8216;Fast, Shifty&#8217; Wide Receiver"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"68\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Carolina Panthers<\/a> have a few big-bodied receivers on the roster. Tetairoa McMillan is 6&#8217;4&#8243;, Xavier Legette is 6&#8217;3&#8243;, and Jalen Coker is as well. They&#8217;ve got the size that few teams can rival. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6b\">However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/news\/carolina-panthers-connected-super-bowl-bound-speedster-free-agency\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">what they don&#8217;t really have is speed<\/a> or any sort of change of pace. Legette is fast, but he&#8217;s not reliable and struggles with most aspects of the game. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6995952\/2026\/01\/26\/panthers-mailbag-xavier-legette-offensive-tackle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">According to Joe Person of The Athletic<\/a>, Panthers GM Dan Morgan wants a shifty, speedy receiver who can create YAC and make people miss. To that end, here are three<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/news\/carolina-panthers-linked-2x-super-bowl-champion-in-free-agency\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> potential targets<\/a> the Panthers could go after to satisfy that need. <\/p>\n<p>Rashid Shaheed<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/01kfx9xv3zk6mbxzqzph.jpg\" alt=\"Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) catches a pass against Carolina Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson\" title=\"Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) catches a pass against Carolina Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson\" width=\"6181\" height=\"3476\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6q\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) catches a pass against Carolina Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6u\">The Panthers have been linked to Rashid Shaheed, and it&#8217;s really easy to see why. He takes the top off the defense, something the Panthers badly need to open things up for Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6x\">But he also returns kicks better than most in the NFL. The Panthers have not had a remotely good return game in a long time, and Shaheed could revolutionize that aspect (much like he did for the Seahawks, who don&#8217;t make the Super Bowl without him). <\/p>\n<p>Calvin Austin<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"73\">Calvin Austin is set to be a free agent after starting his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Panthers have not done well recently with ex-Steeler WRs, but Austin could be exactly what this team needs. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"76\">He&#8217;s fast, as he ran a 4.32 40-yard dash in 2022, and he&#8217;s fairly shifty. Most importantly, he&#8217;s going to be cheap. He is projected a $4.9 million salary by Spotrac. He will also firmly be the WR3, therefore not cutting into targets for either McMillan or Coker. <\/p>\n<p>KC Concepcion<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7c\">There&#8217;s a chance KC Concepcion is a first-round pick in the NFL draft. If he isn&#8217;t, the Panthers should have their eyes firmly on him in the second round, where he could end up being a steal for an offense like Carolina&#8217;s. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7f\">Concepcion is known for his YAC ability and his speed. He averaged over seven yards after the catch in 2025, and in his freshman year at NC State, over 60% of his yards came after the catch. He might be, if he&#8217;s available, the perfect second-round pick. <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI &#8211;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7l\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/news\/carolina-panthers-linked-controversial-22-touchdown-wr-free-agency\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Panthers linked to controversial wide receiver in NFL free agency<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7o\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/draft\/pff-mind-blowing-carolina-panthers-choice-2026-nfl-draft\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">PFF expects Panthers to make shocking choice in NFL draft<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7r\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/news\/carolina-panthers-rookie-class-officially-ranks-among-nfl-best\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Carolina Panthers officially had second-best NFL rookie class in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7u\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/panthers\/onsi\/news\/nfl-insider-suggests-cam-newton-option-broncos-bo-nix-injury\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL insider suggests Broncos add Cam Newton after Bo Nix injury<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Carolina Panthers have a few big-bodied receivers on the roster. Tetairoa McMillan is 6&#8217;4&#8243;, Xavier Legette is&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":706786,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":{"0":"post-706785","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-carolina-panthers","8":"tag-carolina","9":"tag-carolina-panthers","10":"tag-carolinapanthers","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-panthers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115962482603361483","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=706785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/706786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=706785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=706785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=706785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}