Expected return of another young playmaker will set up some interesting personnel decisions for the Panthers after Week 5
Jalen Coker’s return will make things complicated again at WR.
Week 5 proved to be a resilient win for the Carolina Panthers and quarterback Bryce Young despite trailing 17-0 early in the game on Sunday.
Fueled by a strong run game with running back Rico Dowdle, a stout front seven on defense, and some clutch plays by the young wide receivers in the passing game, the Panthers managed to battle back and come away with a 27-24 win.
After a game like that, confidence is starting to rise again (even if the Panthers barely beat a pretty bad Miami Dolphins team). Looking ahead, the Panthers will have a tougher matchup against the Dallas Cowboys but could be getting another young weapon back on offense.
WR Jalen Coker expected to return to practice on Wednesday
As revealed last week, the Panthers are expected to open the 21-day practice window for wide receiver Jalen Coker this week when the team holds practice on Wednesday. Coker has missed each of the first five games due to a quad injury that forced him to land on the injured reserve prior to Week 1.
Head coach Dave Canales and the staff could have opened the practice window last week (following the fourth game) but wanted to give Coker another week before returning to practice.
“We’re going to throw some loads at him and kind of increase it each day to see where he’s at,” Canales said of Coker’s return on Monday. “We’ll make the best decision for Jalen, make the best decision for the team as we go forward through this week.”
Based on that, Coker’s availability for Week 6 is still in question but, the second-year wide receiver will be returning to the mix sooner than later, which will set up for some interesting conversations at the position moving forward.
Carolina already has two established starters in first-round rookie Tetairoa McMillan and second-year Xavier Legette, whom Canales made sure to praise for his confidence-building game on Sunday. In the slot, Hunter Renfrow has been the main guy with 14 receptions for 82 yards and two touchdowns so far this season after trading away Adam Thielen ahead of the regular season.
After the injury to wide receiver David Moore, rookie wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. finally was able to mix into the lineup as well. He’s a player that’s steadily impressed the staff and brings a lot of speed to the table but it was a crowed position that forced Horn to be a healthy scratch during the first four weeks. When he finally got his opportunity, Horn caught two of his three targets including a clutch fourth-down conversion while adding 10 yards on two carries.
Overall, five different receivers played and were on the gameday roster in Week 5 when you include Brycen Tremayne. Once Coker returns to the lineup and is able to play, there’s going to be an odd man out somewhere on the roster, unless the team plans to keep six WRs on gameday.
Would that mean taking opportunities away from a veteran in Renfrow to put more on the plates of the younger guys? Or does someone like Tremayne or Horn go to the inactive list until their name is called to step up? There will be some tough decisions to make the way things stand right now.
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‘I was about to cry’ — Dave Canales’ postgame comments made one thing clear when it comes to Panthers’ WR Xavier Legette
A much-needed bounce back moment for the young playmaker.
