Five reasons why the Carolina Panthers won’t be the top seed in the NFC

2. The wide receivers will disappear

Remember when the Panthers had one of the league’s most electrifying wide receivers in Steve Smith? Yeah, this current group of wideouts is without that type of an explosive player. When Cam Newton looks to pass, generally he is going in the direction of tight end Greg Olson.

The passing game needs to answer one question: can this unit string a number of plays together after starting a series near their end zone, down three points late in the game. Many skeptics believe these receivers don’t have the ability to be effective in a two-minute offense, as they seem tight and often lost in their pass routes when the game is on the line.

Not receiving the necessary production from this group of wideouts does threaten to throw off the cohesion of the entire offense. The Panthers might have been served to add a veteran wide receiver to help with the workload, especially after losing their top outside target Kelvin Benjamin to a season-ending knee injury on the first day of training camp.

The starters must become more consistent, as they need to pressure a defense deep downfield all game long. Hitting a quick strike pass play can change the momentum in a close game, but that has occurred fewer and farther than any point in the season thus far for the Panthers.

The team’s front office was focused on drafting wideouts in last spring’s NFL Draft, as this class was one of the deepest in recent times. They believed starting-caliber talent would still be available well into the fourth round. The Panthers selected Devin Funchess, who has stepped-in magnificently to become Newton’s top option on the outside.

The passing attack must become more consistent, but that task might be difficult because the Panthers find themselves woefully deprive of receiving talent.

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