With Devin Funchess gone to the Colts, the Panthers don’t have a traditional, tall “X” type of top wide receiver anymore. That may not be a bad thing. Carolina has several quality slot receivers as well as a couple good names on the outside. The best of them may be Curtis Samuel.
Watch Samuel lay out and dive to make a catch on a deep pass from Kyle Allen at today’s OTA practice.
If the eyeball test isn’t enough to convince you Samuel can get it done outside, trust the numbers.
According to Pro Football Focus, Samuel did most of his damage outside last season, catching 34 of 51 targets, 15 of his 24 first downs, 403 of his 494 yards and all five of his touchdowns when he wasn’t in the slot.
D.J. Moore has been getting more hype as the new No. 1 receiver, but Samuel is just as deserving of a lot of targets, perhaps even more.
