The Carolina Panthers lost wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a torn ACL Wednesday. As a rookie in 2014, Benjamin caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns.
With a depth chart that includes Corey Brown, Ted Ginn Jr., Jerricho Cotchery and rookie Devin Funchess, many think that the Panthers need to rush out to sign one of the top available receivers. It’s understandable, but it’s the wrong response.
The Panthers don’t need to replace Kelvin Benjamin because they can’t replace him. They can replace his production, but it’s going to take more than one player to do so.
Rivera: We feel real good at WR and the guys we have
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) August 20, 2015
Wide receivers capable of 1,000-yard seasons with around 10 touchdowns aren’t unemployed in August. Even if the Panthers were to find a player that could replace most of Benjamin’s production, they would still need the players already on the roster to replace the difference. The reality is that unemployed wide receivers aren’t going to be much better than what the Panthers already have. Reggie Wayne is a very different kind of wide receiver than Benjamin and he’s not a whole lot different from Cotchery at this stage of his career. Wayne caught 64 passes last year for 779 yards and two touchdowns, but that was with quarterback Andrew Luck and wide receiver T.Y. Hilton drawing the primary attention of the defense. He’ll also turn 37 in November. Would a decline to about 50 receptions and 600 yards with Cam Newton throwing him the ball be unreasonable, if not expected? Cotchery has averaged 47 receptions for 591 yards and 5.5 touchdowns over the last two years. The combination of Brown, Cotchery, Ginn and Funchess could pick up most of the slack, especially with rapid some development from Funchess and Brown. It’s not probable, but it’s possible. It’s not ideal, but using a collection of players was going to be necessary anyway. Tight end Greg Olsen had a career-year in 2014 with 1,008 yards on 84 receptions and six touchdowns. He may have benefited from having Benjamin, but he was equally productive. Olsen will figure heavily into the equation the Panthers will now try to solve. Teams never like to lose their best players, but they know it’s always a possibility. The key to overcoming big injury losses is it to have a base of young talent. The Panthers have that in Funchess and Brown plus a couple veterans to fill in the gaps as they develop consistency.
Teams plan for six months, draft/not draft, add/not add in FA, then plan changes in blink of an eye. Key is having pipeline of talent.
— Andrew Brandt (@adbrandt) August 20, 2015
Will it really matter who the wide receivers are if the offensive line can’t pass protect? Will it really matter who the wide receivers are if opponents don’t have to respect the ground game?
Benjamin is a good player, but he’s reliant on so many other players to be productive. The Panthers will need a collective effort from the entire offense to replace a player of Benjamin’s ability.
The Panthers don’t need to replace Benjamin with an outsider because they can’t. They need to replace his production, which will be difficult, but not impossible. They already have the players to do it. They may be more unknown than Wayne or Santana Moss, but they are cheaper, know the offense and have more upside.
