Bryce Young faces tall task in year 3 with remodeled Panthers WR room

The Carolina Panthers are going to roll into Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a very different wide receiver room than they expected. After last year, it looked as if it was going to be Adam Thielen, Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, David Moore, and a couple of stragglers.

Then, Carolina picked Tetairoa McMillan with their first-round pick. He was pretty good in the preseason, and that prompted them to trade Adam Thielen. Then, Jalen Coker went down, and Hunter Renfrow was signed. All in all, it presents Bryce Young with a tall task since this is a totally remade pass-catching corps.

Carolina Panthers' new-look WR room could make life difficult for Bryce Young

The Carolina Panthers will operate with the following depth chart for Week 1 in Jacksonville:

Tetairoa McMillan
Xavier Legette
Hunter Renfrow
David Moore
Brycen Tremayne
Jimmy Horn Jr.

That is decidedly different from last year's depth chart. It's also a huge departure from what it was just a couple of weeks ago. Adam Thielen was traded and Jalen Coker went on Injured Reserve, and those were two of Bryce Young's most reliable weapons last year.

Nevertheless, NFL insider Josh Kendall with The Athletic says, "The Panthers believe they made the right decision in taking Tetairoa McMillan with the eighth pick. It’s part of the reason Carolina felt comfortable trading Adam Thielen back to the Vikings. "

O course, Coker's rise from UDFA to legitimate NFL player helped Carolina's decision-making process, but then he went on IR and is going to be out for four weeks minimum. Enter Hunter Renfrow, who was out of the league in 2024 and didn't even make the roster initially.

"Throw in 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette, and Bryce Young will have to prove last year’s strong finish was no fluke while playing with one of the youngest starting receiving corps in the league," Kendall concluded.

Young didn't have a problem with various WRs coming and going last year when he returned from the bench, as Adam Thielen, Jalen Coker, and Xavier Legette all spent some time banged up, and he made the most of who was left standing. He'll have to do that again in 2025, at least for the first few weeks.

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