We bring you part two of this week’s mailbag!
Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Asks, part two of your weekly Panthers mailbag for everyone! This week, I posed the topic of wide receivers you might have liked that were towards the bottom of the depth chart, honoring the breakout performance by 2024 undrafted free agent rookie Jalen Coker. Unfortunately, soon after this was posted, the Panthers traded 2024 WR1 Diontae Johnson to the Ravens, for a 2025 5th round pick while the Panthers also flipped over a 2025 6th round pick. Typical internet discourse ensued, so we didn’t have as much participation on the “questions” side of the mailbag. So I’m going to be a little more lax with my answers this week. To recap, Brian Answers is part two of our weekly mailbag, where you can ask any question you like, Panthers related, football related, or even completely off topic, in the Brian Asks post earlier in the week. I generally pose a topic of the week, so I’m going to highlight some of our favorite wide receivers you highlighted in part one this week. Let’s dive in!
MarloBarksdale99: I remember when Keyarris Garret got some hype.
Keyarris Garrett was a 2016 prospect that many thought could have been drafted. He caught on after the draft as a UDFA for Carolina, and while there was hype around him, he didn’t make the final roster and spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad. He then returned for the 2017 off-season, didn’t make the final roster, and once again found himself on the practice squad. His tenure ended a couple of weeks after that, and he never landed on an NFL roster again, though he spent time in the CFL as recently as 2023. He had good size and length for an NFL wide receiver, but no gem to be found.
MtnDancerSr: Although they weren’t UDFAs who can forget the legendary Marvin McNutt and Kealoha Pilares?
- Marvin McNutt-Former 2012 6th round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles, he joined the Panthers as the marvelous tandem of fringe roster wide receivers in 2013. He recorded once target and zero catches in the regular season. His NFL career ended in 2014.
- Kealoha Pilares-Former 5th round pick by the Panthers in the 2011 Draft. Pilares at one point held the Panthers kickoff return record as he took one for 101 yards for a touchdown in his rookie season. He also caught a catch and run pass for 36 yards and a touchdown in 2012. He never really caught on after that.
plancos: David Gettis (6th round) was a training camp monster who kind of faded away.
David Gettis was actually one of the lone bright spots in the 2010 season. He caught 37 passes for 508 yards and 3 TDs. Remember the QBs at the time? Matt Moore, Jimmy Clausen, and Tony Pike! This was the last time the Panthers played so bad that they earned the first overall pick in the ensuing draft that wasn’t already traded to another team. Gettis unfortunately tore his ACL the following season, played sparingly in 2012, and never caught on anywhere after that. But we’ll always have that rookie season.
demaxx1: Brenton Bersin AKA Sunshine!
The man. The myth. The legend. Sunshine. The Dawnbreaker. The eater of 6th wide receivers’ worlds. The Panthers signed Bersin in 2012 as an undrafted free agent out of Wofford, but he didn’t officially catch on until 2014 with the 53 man roster. He stuck around and was a part of THREE playoff rosters for Carolina from 2014 to 2017. He outlasted many fan favorite training camp darlings, and was a part of many memorable debates about roster depth in CSR lore. The greatest of all time caught 32 passes for 415 yards and a TD in his time as a Panther. Don’t ask me about his return game.
Goosecreek: Adam Thielen. He’s only been a Panther for a short time but his career production has been very impressive.
My first thought was Billy “White Shoes” Johnson but upon checking he was drafted…in the 15th round, lol.
Most fans know who Adam Thielen is, but he’s an undrafted free agent receiver who at points in his career was in the conversation at the tippy top of the wide receiver mountain in the NFL. The Panthers brought him on as the veteran guy to stabilize a wide receiver room that just lost DJ Moore via trade in 2023. The Panthers offense was miserable, but Thielen was statistically fantastic with 103 catches, 1,014 yards, and 4 TDs in 2023. I hope he comes back soon in 2024.
Billy Johnson was a fantastic pull as well. Didn’t play for the Panthers though!
hero-ball: WHAT’S
THAT
BEAR
DOING????
sigh
Robby/Robbie/Chosen Anderson/Chosen (now known as Robbie Chosen) was actually a very productive wide receiver for the Jets, and then signed on as part of Matt Rhule’s Temple Owls/Baylor Bears Panthers squad in 2020. He logged a very solid 95 catches for 1,096 yards (both career highs) and 3 TDs that season. His 2021 was less good as the Panthers offensive line and QB play didn’t allow for a ton of good offense. Then he worked his way off the team in 2022, and has bounced around the league about as many times as he’s changed his name.
plancos: Wasn’t Philly Brown an UDFA?
Another rare UDFA HIT by the Panthers in the 2010s. Who says they can’t find good undrafted guys? Philly/Corey Brown joined Carolina in 2014 as mainly a returner candidate, however he managed to work his way into a receiver role as he caught 79 passes for 1,019 yards and 7 TDs in three regular season stints, along with 15 passes for 276 yards and 2 TDs in the postseason. His 2015 postseason performance is especially memorable during the Panthers Super Bowl run, as he had an electric performance against the Cardinals in the NFC Championship and probably would have been a candidate for MVP if the Super Bowl if the Panthers won (and Aqib Talib didn’t try to take his head off plus suffering a concussion).
BzCtyKnights: Taye Biddle had me believin’.
Another deep pull! The 2006 Ole Miss product signed with the Panthers in 2006 and lasted until the 2007 final roster cuts. He caught 3 passes for 37 yards in his rookie season, but never saw regular season stats again.
erickbuck: Does Armanti Edwards count? Sure felt like a UDFA
Serious answer is probably Marvin McNutt, almost based off name value alone
Lamont Bryant had that one long TD vs PITT that sustained hype for months lol
Jarad Green’s dad really got the people going
I had amended the question to include basically anyone that you would consider an obscure wide receiver people clamored for.
- Armanti Edwards-drafted in the infamous 2010 NFL Draft, the Panthers traded up in the 3rd round for the former Appalachian State QB to convert him to WR. The pick they traded away conveniently ended up being the first pick in the 2nd round the following season, so that was pretty sweet. The Panthers tried him at receiver, it never really worked out, and one season later they drafted Cam Newton, so he never got a shot at quarterback either.
- I’m just gonna throw these two together-Lamont Bryant and Jared Green were both super hyped up UDFA prospects during the offseason in the 2010s. Neither one panned out, as they joined several preseason darlings for the party at that time.
Comment down below with your favorite memories! KEEP POUNDING!