Panthers’ Kelvin Benjamin being treated like a No. 1 receiver
The Carolina Panthers spend their first round pick on former Florida State receiver Kelvin Benjamin with the intent that he would develop into the team’s No. 1 receiver for quarterback Cam Newton.
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Nearly halfway through the preseason, the Panthers have been more than impressed with the No. 28 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and are preparing him to be the No. 1 receiver right away with a thin crop of receivers on the roster.
Carolina may have the worst group of wide receivers in the NFL after releasing Steve Smith and letting Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn walk in free agency. Not that the losses of the last two are going to be huge losses, they weren’t very productive, but Benjamin is asked to do a lot as a rookie, which can be overwhelming.
As Panthers’ head coach Ron Rivera tells ESPN, the 6-4, 240-pound receiver is just going to have to suck it up and deal with it.
"“We’ve done some things defensively to put him in situations where he’s being jammed, where he’s being pressed, he’s being doubled, he’s being rolled to,” Rivera said Friday, via ESPN. “He’s going to have to get used to it.”"
After scoring 15 touchdowns last year with the Seminoles, including the game-winner against Auburn in the BCS National Championship Game in the final seconds, Benjamin will be counted on being a force in the red zone at minimum as he acclimates himself to the NFL game.
The early reports are in and he appears to be acclimating just fine.