4 Panthers Already on Thin Ice After Inexcusable Week 1 Blowout
By Joe Summers
4. Jonathan Mingo - WR
Selected in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Jonathan Mingo sits fourth on Carolina's wide receiver depth chart and is fighting an uphill battle to prove he was worthy of his draft pedigree. While he caught a pair of passes for 40 yards (on five targets), he fumbled the ball in a critical moment that led to an immediate Saints' TD.
No Panthers WR played well. Even Dionate Johnson caught only two of six targets. Even still, Mingo's struggles were obvious. He's theoretically supposed to take over Adam Thielen's role eventually, but must hold onto the football if he'll be trusted down the stretch.
Every player deserves criticism, though Mingo's fumble became the defining moment of the game that cemented a disastrous loss.
Mingo had 43 catches for 418 yards and no scores in his rookie campaign. He showcased enough promise to excite fans, yet it became immediately clear why the front office felt it needed to invest significant resources into the skill-position group. He'll likely see limited opportunities this year regardless given how many mouths there are to feed, and he did little to suggest he's deserving of greater trust.
How Mingo performs is a signficant storyline to watch moving forward. If he can't secure targets and turns the ball over, Carolina needs to look elsewhere for production as new GM Dan Morgan reshapes the roster in his image.
Week 1 was as bad as it could get. Luckily, the Panthers get to turn the page and look ahead to Week 2. How the roster responds will determine if this team can achieve any success this year. If dramatic improvements don't show immediately, you can expect changes to come sooner rather than later.
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