Carolina Panthers 2024 mailbag: Offseason questions ahead of final cuts

Carolina Panthers' outlook at wide receiver

Who’s the odd man out in the WR room? Outside of your main four in Mingo, XL, Johnson, and Thielen. – Luke G.

This is an extremely difficult decision. That’s not necessarily because the Carolina Panthers have such elite talent throughout everyone in that room, but it’s also not nearly bereft of talent as it has been in years past.

The core four are locked in, as Luke points out. That makes the decision twofold: how many wide receivers does the team carry and who finds themselves on the outside looking in?

The first answer I’ll give is that the team keeps six receivers. They could, in theory, keep anywhere between four and seven. The competition appears to be between Terrace Marshall Jr., David Moore, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, and Jalen Coker.

Marshall and the undrafted free-agent sensation don’t offer much from a special teams standpoint. That’s an important factor in claiming one of the final roster spots, as teams will want those players to contribute in some facet that makes the squad place worth allocating.

Also, Joe Person of The Athletic reports the fourth-year former LSU wideout is being shopped by the front office to teams who may need depth at pass catcher. Should Marshall be traded, that could clear a wider path for the former Holy Cross standout.

Smith-Marsette and Moore both bring more to the table as returners. The former had a punt return for a touchdown last season against the Chicago Bears, as you may recall. The latter has experience playing for Dave Canales and would be the third-most productive NFL receiver on the roster behind Adam Thielen and Diontae Johnson.

That’s valuable for a young quarterback on its own. But the rapport between Young and Moore also looks legitimate based on offseason observations.

If I’m forced to choose, which is exactly what’s happening here in this exercise, I will lean towards Smith-Marsette and Coker both being cut. Marshall and Moore have done more with their looks this summer and have earned their chance to prove it on Sundays in Process Blue.