4 Carolina Panthers rookies who need to shine most at minicamp
By Dean Jones
Shi Smith – Carolina Panthers WR
Even though Shi Smith was unable to take part in the 2021 Senior Bowl due to injury, the Carolina Panthers obviously saw enough from the wide receiver during team drills to take him in the sixth round. However, this not guarantee the South Carolina product will be a big part of the offensive game plan right away with so much talent projected to be ahead of him on the depth chart.
A best-case scenario for Smith would be as a fifth receiving option behind D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson, David Moore, and Terrace Marshall Jr. That is not a guarantee with Brandon Zylstra, Keith Kirkwood, and the intriguing Omar Bayless also fighting for targets, so how he performs throughout the offseason will go a long way to determining just what role he’ll have next season.
Smith has bundles of talent and does his best work out of the slot, which is an area the Panthers lost some exceptional production following Curtis Samuel’s decision to leave in free agency for the Washington Football Team.
His reliable hands, elusiveness, and big-play ability are intriguing traits to call upon. So if he can stamp his authority at rookie minicamp it will be a solid foundation from which to build.
One area that is worth monitoring when watching Smith is his mouth, which tends to get him into trouble on occasions.