4 most important Panthers players vs. the Falcons in Week 8

Curtis Samuel – Carolina Panthers WR

While Robby Anderson and D.J. Moore get most of the headlines, and rightfully so. Curtis Samuel is also putting together a nice season on his way to becoming one of Teddy Bridgewater’s most reliable passing options.

The wide receiver has been a favorite target on third down, which is aided the offense considerably thanks in no small part to his supreme ability to get open quickly and assured hands catching the ball under pressure.

This has enabled a fluid offense to move the chains consistently. Samuel already has 14 catches on third down to his name and this is only enhancing his chances of a big-money deal in free agency next spring.

Whether that will be in Carolina or elsewhere is still up for debate.

The Panthers need to make the most out of Samuel while they still can. There is a chance he is given the sort of extension he’s looking for. But the promise of an increased role and massive money elsewhere might be too much to turn down at this juncture.

Samuel has overcome some early struggles from an involvement perspective to carve out an important role. One only has to look at how Carolina struggled to move the ball in his absence against the Chicago Bears to see that and the former Ohio State standout can boost his bargaining tools even further with the entire NFL world watching on Thursday.