Carolina Panthers: Three reasons to be excited about Chris Hogan signing

He can make big-time plays

Chris Hogan is used to making big plays. After all, he was a member of the New England Patriots, and had his hand in making several key plays during his time there. Perhaps one of his best qualities was the fact that he seemed to get big-yard receptions every single time he touched the football. Now, he looks to bring that style of play to Carolina.

Last season for the New England Patriots, Hogan averaged 13.7 yards per reception. That tied his amount from the 2017 season and was slightly down from the 2016 season. In 2016, he had the best year of his career in terms of yards per catch. Tallying 18.4 on the season, he proved to be a viable deep threat. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, he averaged his most yards after catch per reception that year. With a 5.4 number, he proved that he was able to do more than just catch the football. He was able to do something with it.

Thinking hypothetically, what if D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel are covered on a particular play? You know that defenses will definitely be paying more attention to them. Having a guy like Hogan that can also provide that big-play spark will undoubtedly help the Carolina Panthers. He’s also not a guy that will make defenses say “We definitely have to pay more attention to him.” That would be the best-case scenario. That way, he will be able to fly under the radar a bit when it comes to game planning and also put up big-time numbers. Hogan’s pass-catching abilities and Newton’s tendency to throw the deep ball could be the perfect one-two combination.