Former Panthers and current Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has his strengths as an executive. Drafting talent at the wide receiver position has not proven to be one of them as of yet. Gettleman’s preference for long, tall wide receivers was embodied by the selections of Kelvin Benjamin (round one – 2014) and Devin Funchess (round two – 2015). The 2018 NFL season was not kind to either of them.
According to Rotoworld, Funchess had the highest drop rate in the league last year at 13.9 percent. Benjamin was not much better, dropping nine percent of his passes, which ranked him No. 7. Here’s the complete list of the top 10.
Benjamin is of course a lost cause. He started the year with the Bills and acted like he’d won the Super Bowl when he scored a touchdown against Carolina in the preseason. He was later cut and picked up by the Chiefs, but he caught just two of five targets from Patrick Mahomes and was inactive during their playoff run. His next stop in the NFL will probably be his last.
Funchess has shown far more potential. While the drop numbers were ugly, it doesn’t represent his complete body of work. Dropping several passes in front of his hometown crowd against the Lions seemed to sap his confidence and he wasn’t the same after. However, Funchess has developed a great deal as a route runner and has always been a better competitor.
It’s unlikely that the Panthers will bring Funchess back after he hits free agency next month. He could still catch on wither another team, though.
Moving forward, Carolina seems to be favoring shorter, quicker receivers with very different abilities than Funchess and Benjamin. Curtis Samuel is a legitimate burner and DJ Moore is a YAC master. Both should be featured much more during the 2019 season.
