Where did PFF rank Panthers' receiving group?

The Carolina Panthers carried a pretty potent group of pass catchers headed into the 2021 campaign. There were very few one-two punches more productive than the duo of DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson, plus a couple of uber-athletic rookies in Terrace Marshall Jr. and Tommy Tremble were ready to join in.

Unfortunately, the output simply wasn’t there throughout the season.

Mainly a product of a staggering offense—one that went through two offensive coordinators, three starting quarterbacks and 12 different starting offensive lines—many of the team’s receivers didn’t exactly put up good numbers. Moore, in fact, was the only standout—having reeled in 93 receptions for 1,157 yards and four touchdowns.

So, when Pro Football Focus analyst Ben Linsey ranked each NFL team’s receiving units, he wasn’t too kind to Carolina—positioning them at the No. 23 spot.

“DJ Moore fits into a similar bucket as Terry McLaurin — a young receiver who has had a lot of success early in his career despite bottom-of-the-barrel quarterback play,” Linsey writes. “Moore has cleared 1,100 receiving yards and a 75.0 PFF grade in each of the past three seasons. However, things get a little bit more uncertain beyond him on the depth chart.

“Robbie Anderson’s play has trailed off since his strong start to the 2020 season, and Terrace Marshall Jr. failed to make much of an impact (0.5 yards per route run) as a rookie last year. A tight end group led by Ian Thomas doesn’t move the needle much, either.”

That trio of Anderson, Marshall Jr. and Thomas combined for 845 receiving yards and five scores. And those five end-zone visits, by the way, were all Anderson’s.

2022 isn’t looking too promising either—at least in terms of who will be throwing to them. Although rookie Matt Corral has an outside chance to show the Panthers what he’s got, the disappointing project that is Sam Darnold remains at the front of the depth chart.

But maybe some continuity—something this entire side of the ball had almost none of in 2021—could help. They’ll just have to find it.