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At this point, it seems like a near certainty that the Panthers will be taking a wide receiver on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft. The team is in dire need of help around the second-year quarterback Bryce Young after letdown seasons from everyone in the pass-catching room not named Adam Thielen.
On Thursday, the Mac & Bone Show was joined by Ryan Roberts, host of the ‘The First Team – NFL Draft & College Football Show’ and writer for the College Football and NFL Draft Wire, as they discussed some of the best options for the Panthers. The name that came up when talking about how quickly Dave Canales wants to get the ball out of Bryce Young’s hands was one that we have talked a lot about here on WFNZ so far this year. “Ladd McConkey out of Georgia is a kid that is 5’11, 185 pounds and ran four three something at the combine. If you watch his film at Georgia, they throw him screens, he’s a quick underneath separator. He really is an after catch guy as well. I mean, some people are going to underrate him being a white wide receiver. They’re going to kind of assume that he’s just this route running separator that doesn’t give you much after the catch. And that’s just not Ladd McConkey. He can really make things happen after getting the balls in his hands.”
Another receiver that Roberts likes as a quick separator is combine star Xavier Worthy. “If you get Xavier Worthy the ball out in space quickly and you’re able to just manufacture some space, he can get open quick and he can make things happen after the catch as well.”
While both of these guys seem like very good options, they are not the guy that Roberts thinks fits the best with Bryce Young’s game. “If I had a personal preference, it would probably be Keon Coleman. He’s a guy that I look at and say, he is not there today where I want him to be as far as being a finished product, but he is one of the younger wide receivers in this class. He is 6’2+. He’s 212 pounds. He didn’t run a great 40 at 4.61, but he is a very explosive player. You can tell by his jumps and his short area stuff and he reminds me a whole lot of Allen Robinson and the very good Allen Robinson. Not the Allen Robinson we’ve known over the last couple of years. So I really like Keon Coleman a lot. I feel like if he’s at 33, I would take the plunge there, because I think that that size and that ability to give you a little bit more down the field is something that could really accentuate, hopefully, the rise of Bryce Young this offseason.”
Listen to Ryan Roberts full comment from the Mac & Bone Show below and be sure to subscribe to the Mac & Bone Show wherever you get your podcasts.
