Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) leaps over Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Insider shares blunt analysis of the Carolina Panthers' glaring lack of depth

Originally posted on Carolina Panthers on SI
By Tim Weaver | Last updated Oct 4, 2025 8:30 AM ET

Injuries are a part of life in the NFL. No team is ever 100% healthy, even during the offseason - and especially not five weeks into their regular season schedule. However, most teams can absorb at least a few injuries to players who aren't critical pieces before the wheels begin to come off.

Unfortunately, the Carolina Panthers are not one of those teams. The simple fact is that their poor returns in every draft class after the 2017 crop means that they're lacking depth at every single position on the field, so when literally any player gets injured, that lack of depth is going to show.

ESPN's Panthers beat reporter David Newton put it pretty succinctly in his preview of Sunday's home game against the Miami Dolphins.

"Coach Dave Canales likes to look at the rash of injuries that have contributed to a 1-3 record as an opportunity for someone else to step up. Unfortunately for him, nobody has."

Even in places where the Panthers were supposed to be strong coming into his season they have been exposed as a paper tiger. The worst of it is at wide receiver, where the loss of two key pieces has shattered offseason confidence that this group might actually be the team's deepest on paper.

Trading Adam Thielen did get Carolina a fourth-round draft pick, which is a pretty good return for the oldest wide receiver in the NFL. However, the move also cut the head off the team's passing offense - and left Bryce Young with only one other pass-catcher who he really had a strong rapport with.

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The very next day that other trusted piece was also lost when Jalen Coker went down with a major quad injury - his second in as many seasons.

With Thielen gone and Coker on injured reserve, the Panthers had to hope that Xavier Legette would step up his game big-time, but instead he's fallen off in a bad way.

Those three unfortunate turns has given Young little choice but to force-feed the ball to rookie Tetairoa McMillan. While McMillan is talented and should only get better with more experence, the chemistry between those two still needs more time to develop, and they've been on different pages too often.

The only pleasant surprise Young has been treated to this season is a sharp game from former Notre Dame tight ends Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans last week, and that wasn't nearly enough to close a 30-point gap with the Patriots.

If Young continues to struggle these next couple of weeks the Panthers are probably going to bench him and attempt to find another franchise quarterback this coming offseason.

If and when that happens fans should keep in mind that the organization failed Young - not the other way around.

This article first appeared on Carolina Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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