4 Panthers players who must see playing time moving forward

Brandon Zylstra – Carolina Panthers WR

With Seth Roberts no longer with the Carolina Panthers following his release last week, there appears to be an opening for someone else to assume No. 4 wide receiver duties.

Brandon Zylstra might just be the man who gets an opportunity and it is vital he makes more of it than the free-agent signing did during the first half of the season.

Zylstra’s exceptional training camp saw him make the roster, and he has shown some dependability when he’s been on the field, albeit in a limited capacity. The wideout has been targeted just once in Week 7 at the New Orleans Saints, which he caught successfully for a four-yard gain.

Opportunities were bound to be limited behind Robby Anderson, D.J. Moore, and Curtis Samuel, who are arguably the NFL’s best trio of pass-catching playmakers. Targets will get even fewer once star running back Christian McCaffrey returns to the fold following a long absence. But there will come a time when the Panthers need to see just what Zylstra can do when given the responsibility of more targets.

There should be more chances for Zylstra between now and the season’s conclusion. How he performs will go a long way to determining whether or not he has a future with the franchise in 2021 and beyond.