5 Carolina Panthers players who have disappointed most so far in 2023

Jonathan Mingo - Carolina Panthers WR

After being selected No. 39 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Jonathan Mingo was expected to step into the Carolina Panthers offense and show flashes of a potential No. 1 receiver. Instead of that, he has barely made any impact on the field.

The most damning thing about the selection of the former Ole Miss wide receiver is the talents taken after him in the draft at the same position. Players like Puka Nacua, Jayden Reed, Marvin Mims Jr., Tank Dell, and Josh Downs have all either immediately become impactful players, or have shown promising signs of becoming a good NFL player.

Mingo has yet to show much of anything 10 games into his career.

Used primarily as an intermediate and short route target, Mingo has struggled to find open space against zone coverage and has not been able to get much separation against man-to-man coverage. His route running has been poor, and the number of drops is not good either.

In college, Mingo was at his best when he was running vertically down the field as a deep threat. His physical traits are very good, which is why he was selected when he was by Carolina, but his game needs a lot of polishing up before he becomes a productive NFL player.

It is fair to say that Frank Reich and his coaching staff have not used Mingo's current skill set correctly. They seemingly have not coached him well either.

Presuming the Panthers move on from Reich after this season, 2024 will be more telling about what Mingo could be. But he has had a rough rookie campaign up to now.