Panthers: Devin Funchess confident in wide receiver group
The Carolina Panthers star is fired up for training camp…
It is always good when a key part of your offense is ecstatic about the upcoming season. That is the case for Carolina Panthers wideout Devin Funchess.
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Funchess has been on a media tour of sorts as of late. Last week, he appeared on the Jim Rome Show to discuss how things look on the offensive side of the football. Thursday, he made an appearance on SiriusXM Blitz where he gave a bit of insight into how the team is constructed and where he will fit in the scheme of things.
"“We’ve got a lot of competition,” Funchess told Zig Fracassi and James Lofton on the SiriusXM Blitz. “Those two guys, we’ve got Jarius Wright, Damiere Byrd, Curtis Samuel, Mose Frazier. That’s just some of them. Everybody brings something different to the table. … Camp is going to tell the tale. You’ve got speed, you’ve got explosiveness and you’ve got a lot of energy. It’s going to be fun, and I can’t wait.”"
One of the other things that can be taken from his comments is that he is very aware of his positional placement. Once wideout Kelvin Benjamin left, Funchess stepped into the former’s role and began to make a name for himself.
"“I preach versatility … in whatever you do. When he left, I assumed the role of the X position. Other than that, I know every position of the offense. I’m just trying to move over to the other side and take the reins from there.”"
Funchess should be able to have a breakout season. What makes this year different from last year is the Carolina Panthers finally have multiple wideouts who can do a little bit of everything. Wright is dependable in clutch situations, Byrd can offer dependability, Samuel can offer explosiveness. A multi-purpose, multi-faceted offensive attack should take the pressure off of Funchess to be the main guy. He still will be the main guy, but it case defenses play him tight, there will no longer be that pressure to produce every single week.
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Funchess sounds ready to compete and happy with the teammates he has. That is a credit to Marty Hurney and friends for putting together a versatile group in the offseason. Now, we are just weeks away from seeing it all come together.