6 dynamic WR draft prospects Carolina Panthers must consider for Bryce Young

Carolina Panthers could draft Brian Thomas Jr.

Brian Thomas Jr. might be exactly what this Carolina Panthers team has been looking for since the unfortunate experiments of Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess fell apart.

The Panthers have been trying to find that big-body threat on the outside for so long that it is almost comical at this point. Those in power failed to bring in anyone capable of consistently winning on the outside. Brian Thomas Jr. could change all that in an instant.

At 6-foot-3, Thomas has NFL size and a wingspan that many teams covet - even in today's league that is so focused on speed and quickness. Add on top of that a sneaky speed that consistently catches defenders off guard as well as sure hands that will snatch just about anything that gets within range and you have a complete receiver.

Thomas is not quick, but he is fast. A fast receiver excels at long posts, hitches, and go routes. The things that the Panthers failed to attempt throughout last season.

When watching some film on Thomas, there is an easiness to his game, an effortlessness to his movements that just make the game look slower. You watch the wideout run around defenders like they are standing still and before you know it, he is 20 yards downfield. This is the kind of thing you cannot teach - something that could benefit Bryce Young greatly entering a critical second season.

The young wideout also shows a lack of fear when competing for jump balls. This is yet another thing the Panthers have sorely missed - especially in the red zone and on third down. Thomas will put his body between the defender and the ball, absorb the hit, and keep churning his legs until the conversion is made. The team needs that kind of toughness and grit.

If the Panthers were to draft Thomas - something that might have to be done by trading up into the first round - they would get the outside red zone threat they have been trying to find for over a decade.