ERST LESEN! » The Carolina Panthers got an adrenaline shot in the

arm during the 2018 season at wide receiver. What’s next?"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Keep Sounding PodcastPanthers 2019 NFL DraftCSR Film RoomPanthers 2018 season review: Wide receiversNew Greg Little Carolina Panthers Jersey ,7commentsThe Carolina Panthers got an adrenaline shot in the arm during the 2018 season at wide receiver. What’s next?ESTShareTweetShareSharePanthers 2018 season review: Wide receiversDerick E. Hingle-USA TODAY SportsLast January seems like so long ago, but at the time we were lamenting the struggles of the Panthers offense, specifically at wide receiver. Kaelin Clay and Devin Funchess both missed opportunities for big time touchdown catches against the Saints in a hard fought playoff match, and it became clear that the Panthers simply cannot depend on Cam Newton to carry this offense kicking and screaming to a Super Bowl victory. They needed weapons. They needed speed. They needed something to take some of the burden off of Cam. And while 2018 wasn’t considered a successful season overall, this offense got a shot in the arm athletically.Another first round pick, another weapon in the arsenalOne year following the heavy investment of Christian McCaffery being drafted in the first and Curtis Samuel being drafted in the second, the Panthers essentially tripled down by taking D.J. Moore with their first pick in 2018. The kid could catch, he could run like a running back, and he was a motivated individual getting into the NFL. There were questions about his route running ability and questions about inflated production in college as the de-facto No. 1 weapon at Maryland. Well, the kid ended up being as advertised, catching 55 passes for 788 yards and 2 touchdowns despite an offense that fell off a cliff halfway through the season. Moore usurped Devin Funchess as the No. 1 receiver eventually, and heads into the 2019 season with plenty of momentum and a ton of quality snaps under his belt.I wasn’t surprised with Moore and his run after the catch ability, that was his selling point coming out of college. He legitimately reminds me of Steve Smith when he’s got the ball in his hands. However, he showed flashes of being more than a shadow of a Panthers' legend. He's the kind of player who can last in the NFL. He showed that in this play.Moore used his hips to beat the breaks off of Darius Slay on this play Blue Greg Little Jersey , a cornerback regarded as one of the better veterans in the NFL. Moore was able to use his inside release to break outside, leaving Slay turned around and unable to get close to the football on this throw.This is the kind of play a legitimate starting wide receiver makes in the NFL. There are plenty of players with run after the catch ability, but these kind of plays differentiate the Cordarrelle Pattersons from the D.J. Moores.A bump in the road becomes a shot of adrenalineCurtis Samuel had a rough start to his NFL career, battling injury and seeing some success in limited action during the 2017 season. He appeared primed for a nice rebound to start the 2018 season, but surgery for a “minor” heart condition held him out for a few weeks. Once he got into full swing with this offense, he became a fire cracker. Samuel caught 39 passes for 494 yards and five touchdowns, along with 8 rushes for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Moore scored roughly once every nine touches, and for awhile there during the season he scored once every four touches. This kid is a play-maker, somebody who can be a threat as a rusher, deep receiver, and even in short yardage goal-to-go situations.Samuel won as a runner on this play, in a way very reminiscent of Ted Ginn in the 2015 playoffs. But he could potentially be even better very early in his career.I love plays like this from guys like Samuel, who many might write off as a gadget type player. Samuel can win in one on one, goal to go situations Greg Little Carolina Panthers Jersey , and he created separation using his hands, and feet. Samuel is becoming very technically refined, and as a compliment to Moore and McCaffrey he could see a ton of opportunities to make even more plays in 2019.The mercenariesIt wouldn’t be a Carolina Panthers offense without some new veteran receivers to fill in the gaps. The Panthers traded for Torrey Smith, shipping off Daryl Worley straight up. Smith only caught 17 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns, but he was crucial at times for the Panthers. His role was slowly phased out as Samuel and Moore began to take more snaps following Smith’s injury.The one diamond in the rough, and arguably the best free agent signing of the 2018 offseason was Jarius Wright. Cam Newton hasn’t had a consistent chain mover since Jerricho Cotchery, and Wright delivered as a security blanket. He came in as a cheap option, and turned out to be a high yielding investment as a player Newton could depend on, especially after Greg Olsen went down with injuries. Newton should throw a lot more passes his way now that his shoulder should be healthy going into the 2019 season, and Wright will allow Moore and Samuel to fly around as big play threats against defenses.What’s next?Devin Funchess slowly saw his snaps phased out over the season after he had issues with drops and not being on the same page as Cam. Funchess will likely be allowed to walk in free agency, which is unfortunate as Newton has produced well with him in the past. But the prevailing theme over the last two seasons has been to introduce more speed to the offense, and Funchess does not fit that bill. Funchess provided value as a physical mismatch and a chain mover, but his issues with dropping passes made him a non factor as the season went on.Jarius Wright will step in as a guy who can move the chains, but the Panthers offense definitely needs a red zone threat. Both Moore and Samuel showed they can break ankles and get open Cheap Greg Little Jersey , but they do not present the same physical mismatch that Funchess does. Maybe the guy who replaces that is already here (a healthy Greg Olsen or possibly Ian Thomas?), or maybe they are waiting in the draft. Regardless, of all the needs the Panthers have, this may be the first time they can walk into the season knowing they have some fire power at wide receiver. One of the biggest highlights from the Panthers’ 2018 season came from Christian McCaffrey’s monster campaign. He produced 1098 rushing yards on 219 attempts and 867 receiving yards on 107 receptions. He was 133 yards short of becoming the third running back in NFL history to have 1000 yards in both rushing and receiving. The other two backs were Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk. Both Craig and Faulk had more time to achieve this feat, though. Craig met the goal while he played in the playoffs with the San Francisco 49ers in 1985. Faulk met the goal in 1999 when his Rams won the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the Panthers didn’t play well enough in the second half of the season for McCaffrey to have enough time to meet this achievement. However, he did get an all-pro selection, so he did receive some appropriate recognition for his incredible season. He also made NFL history with this incredible stat below:McCaffrey is at the top of this list, and it is full of wide receivers (with the exception of Reggie Bush). As a 22 year old, he has more receptions than the likes of Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald when they were his age. If that wasn’t impressive enough, check out this phenomenal highlight tape he posted:Personally, I believe he will get 1000 single-season yards in both rushing and receiving someday. He is that good. The Panthers just need to perform much better while McCaffrey is in his prime. What do you think, Panthers fans?