Kelvin Benjamin had his fair share of drops in his rookie season with the Carolina Panthers. In fact, he finished with the second-most drops in the NFL in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus, allowing 11 catchable passes to fall incomplete. However, only four players were targeted more often than Benjamin, who was the target of 145 passes from Cam Newton and Derek Anderson
The Panthers are going back to Cam Newton’s past to survive Kelvin Benjamin’s injury
Expecting big numbers from Devin Funchess isn’t fair for the rookie, but tight ends could become a bigger part of the Carolina offense.
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
He finished the year with 73 receptions for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns, which leaves a lot of production to be replaced. What his knee injury truly leaves though, is a whole lot of targets to be spread around to different players in the Panthers receiving corps.
While many want to point to Devin Funchess as the soon-to-be recipient of all those suddenly available Cam Newton targets, the biggest beneficiary may not even be a receiver. Instead, the Panthers are looking to the tight end position to play a bigger role in the team's offense.
Just one day after Benjamin's season-ending injury, the Panthers were already working Ed Dickson into the offense more than usual. Dual tight end sets weren't a common formation for Carolina in 2014, and Dickson finished the year with just 10 receptions for 115 yards, the lowest marks of his career. However, it was a set that the Panthers used often and successfully during Cam Newton's rookie season in 2011, and one that Greg Olsen told the Charlotte Observer the team could use more now that Benjamin is out.
“Yeah we’ll see. I think that gives us some good flexibility, some big bodies that can fill in and can run and do some different things,” Olsen said on Thursday after practice. “Ed had a good camp. After getting over that groin (injury) he really had a good camp. He can do a lot for us and we’re all going to have to step up.”
Meanwhile, Funchess is all the rage. The replacement of Funchess for Benjamin isn’t without logic. At 6’5, 230 pounds, Funchess is a big-bodied pass catcher built similarly to the 6’5, 240-pound Benjamin. But expecting him to seamlessly transition into the “team giant” role is unfair.
While Funchess has physical skills comparable to Benjamin, he wasn’t nearly as productive in college. In fact, Funchess entered the NFL as essentially the definition of a project player who would need some time to develop. In retired NFL defensive end Stephen White’s breakdown of Funchess, he was positive that the Michigan pass catcher wouldn’t even play wide receiver.
I should go ahead and say that Funchess is not going to be a wide receiver on the next level. I know he somehow ran around a 4.5 in the 40 at his pro day and that’s great, but on tape he played last season at a speed a lot closer to the 4.7 he ran at the combine. That 4.7 is a pretty good time for a tight end, but below average for a wide receiver.
Ultimately, it’s just not fair to heap No. 1 receiver and 1,000-yard expectations on Funchess one season after he finished with four touchdowns in his junior season at Michigan.
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