Re-grading Panthers position groups on offense after the 2021 season
By Noah Bryce
Carolina Panthers WRs
The wide receiver room is a bit of a conundrum as their production is equally dependant on them and the ability of the person throwing them the ball. That being said, there are still things to look for.
D.J. Moore is once again a criminally underrated player. The young wideout has now totaled over 1,000 receiving yards in three straight seasons with a less than consistent quarterback position. This just goes to show how extremely talented the player truly is.
Just imagine him with a top-tier quarterback.
Robby Anderson is less so. After a breakout campaign in 2020, the speedy wideout severely regressed in 2021 and had some serious struggles with drops at times during the campaign. Totaling less than half of his 2020 yardage at only 519 receiving yards.
With that regression, many expected second-rounder Terrace Marshall Jr. to pick up some of the slack, and that didn’t really happen either. Injuries did hamper his development somewhat, but he tallied up 138 yards on the season which is not the kind of production you want out of such a high-end draft selection.
Neither Anderson nor the big-bodied rookie could manage to get open in any meaningful way and even when the ball was thrown their direction they struggled to make the catch. So even more pressure was placed on Moore’s shoulders and that showed at points with teams locking him down because they knew the other receivers couldn’t do anything meaningful.
A surprise breakout was Brandon Zylstra, a player always on the bubble that turned into a sort of safety blanket for Sam Darnold. This could lead to a bigger role with the Carolina Panthers next season.
- Preseason Grade: A+
- Final Grade: D+
Sadly one player does not a team make and even with the heroics of Moore, this receiver core simply went too far below expectations this season to be graded any higher. Especially when considering the pass-first approach for much of the year.
Moore even struggled in a lot of games since the opposition only needed to focus on him. This group must step up next season or there is going to be a major retooling in the near future.