4 Carolina Panthers rookies with unrealistic expectations in 2021

Terrace Marshall Jr. – Carolina Panthers WR

There is every chance that Terrace Marshall Jr. will go on to have a fantastic NFL career. He has every single athletic attribute normally associated with a standout wide receiver at the next level, but expecting miracles from the LSU product right away is unrealistic.

Marshall Jr. was an opportunity the Carolina Panthers couldn’t pass up at No. 59 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, especially as they received a tip-off that the New Orleans Saints were about to take him with the very next pick. His previous experience working with Joe Brady should serve him well, but it might be a slow process to reach the sort of heights we saw from the player in college.

This is due to a number of reasons. Marshall Jr. is coming off knee surgery and also broke his foot in 2019. So the Panthers do have the luxury of bringing him along slowly should they choose.

Carolina has an embarrassment of riches in the passing game despite Curtis Samuel bolting in free agency for the Washington Football Team. D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson, and David Moore should command the lion’s share of the passing game distribution, with the presence of the NFL’s best dual-threat running back in Christian McCaffrey something else that shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to Marshall’s initial production.

Marshall should get a ton of open looks to make plays, which he is more than capable of doing. However, expecting him to be a dynamic force from the word go might be a stretch with others set to get more in the way of targets.