The Carolina Panthers Select Devin Funchess
Feb 19, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan wide receiver Devin Funchess speaks to the media at the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
The Carolina Panthers traded their 2nd round pick, along with their 3rd and 6th round picks, to the Rams to select Devin Funchess. This guy is a freakish athlete, who seems better suited to play as a TE than as a WR, in my opinion.
More from Carolina Panthers
- Carolina Panthers: Secondary battles to watch in training camp 2020
- Carolina Panthers: 2020 training camp kicks off on Tuesday
- Carolina Panthers: Familiarity should help offense in 2020
- Carolina Panthers: Better or worse at running back in 2020?
- Carolina Panthers: Ranking the NFC South quarterback rooms
There is no doubt Funchess has a lot of speed for his size, but we needed, in my opinion, a true speedy receiver to go opposite of Kelvin Benjamin, and instead we chose another big WR. I do not think Funchess is a terrible player or a potential bust, because at worse I see him in the Benjamin mold, but it is another head scratcher.
I want the Panthers to be successful, and it is not me player bashing, because both our 1st and 2nd round picks have enough talent to be picked at where they got picked, I just wonder about fit.
Funchess is able to catch the ball in traffic, and he can break tackles at a fast rate. I do see Funchess as a TE because of his size, and his lack of elite speed, but the Panthers are going to play him at WR. I do see Benjamin and Funchess creating nightmares for opposing teams, because of their height and ability to catch in traffic.
Live Feed
Betsided
The only problem for the Panthers WR core is that the Seattle Seahawks are more than capable of covering WRs with height. I thought the one thing that could potentially get the Panthers past the Seahawks was a speedy receiver opposite of Benjamin to allow the Panthers more room to run the ball. Teams tend to creep up in the box when playing the Panthers offense, because they do not fear getting beat deep.
More from Old North Banter
- Carolina Panthers: Secondary battles to watch in training camp 2020
- Carolina Panthers: 2020 training camp kicks off on Tuesday
- NC Colleges Provide Coronavirus Results from Athletic Departments
- Court alleges Zion’s Stepfather received $400k
- UNC Football gets Commitment from Top Cornerback
Funchess will be a great player, and I hope I am wrong about the Panthers true need at WR, but from watching them last year when they had the offense on the field, it is hard to see a greater need than speed. Funchess is no doubt a big boy, and he comes from a big college with a lot of NFL pedigree to it. I do trust Dave Gettleman, I just disagree with the first two picks this year. I could be wrong, and like most humans I am often wrong, but I could also be right.