We’re counting down the days until the Panthers kick off the 2024 season.
We’re officially 15 days away from the Carolina Panthers kicking off the 2024 NFL season against the New Orleans Saints. It will be their second consecutive road opener. Now it’s time for our annual roster countdown to highlight the players on the Panthers’ roster. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the player wearing the the No. 15 jersey— wide receiver Jonathan Mingo.
Panthers fans are nervous that Mingo, the second draft pick of the Frank Reich era, will turn out to be another in a long line of Panthers wide receivers taken in the second round to ultimately disappoint their draft position. Taken with the 39th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Mingo has a combination of size and athleticism that should give him the opportunity to excel in the NFL. However, he was out performed last season by multiple receivers drafted after him—not to mention by a number of receivers who were the draft darlings of a variety of CSR commenters.
In 15 games last season, Mingo only notched 43 receptions for 418 yards and zero touchdowns. The key words in the sentence, of course, were “last season.” The entire Panthers offense last season was an unqualified dumpster fire. It is difficult to sort through the ashes and say which piece of garbage started the fire, whether it jumped from cardboard box to banana peel or vice versa, and—this being the most important part—whether or not everything on fire in that dumpster was garbage at all.
The hope for Mingo is the same as the hope for Bryce Young. We hope that they both simply underwhelmed because of their environment and not because of their own talent levels. Say it with me, y’all, In Dave We (Must) Trust (Because We Have No Other Choice At The Moment). Catchy, right?
How about it Panthers fans, what do you expect from Mingo this season? Scroll on down to the comments and share your thoughts with us!