Liam Coen Addresses Jaguars' Advantage in Week 1 vs. Panthers

Jacksonville has a good chance to do just that in its season opener against the Carolina Panthers. After all of the changes the franchise brought in, both on the sidelines and on the depth chart, they open as favorites in Week 1. While that's partly due to the optimism surrounding the Jaguars, it's also a representation of the low expectations for the Panthers in 2025.

It didn't help Carolina's case when Jalen Coker was placed on short-term IR with a quad injury, ruling him out against Jacksonville and through the first four weeks of the season. There were high hopes that Coker could have climbed as high as WR2 on the Panthers' depth chart, but they'll have to look elsewhere against the Jaguars.

Liam Coen isn't counting the Panthers out

Head Coach Liam Coen knows that no NFL team should be underestimated. Doing so can lead to a rude awakening against a supposedly inferior opponent. He doesn't want his Jacksonville Jaguars to take things lightly against the Carolina Panthers, even with Jalen Coker out for the game.

The loss of Coker was made even worse by Carolina's decision to trade wide receiver Adam Thielen back to the Minnesota Vikings. But the Panthers did have a contingency plan, as Coen told Jacksonville media after practice:

"I think [Tetairoa McMillan] being a rookie, we know we liked him coming out of the draft, we know what some of those traits are that he can do with some of the one-on-one opportunities as well. And then [Xavier] Legette can really run. Big, physical receiver. Hunter Renfrow has won in the slot here for years. What does that look like? I think they’ll probably remain within what they do. I don’t know if it’ll drastically change how they operate."

"Maybe we’ll see a little bit more 12, 13 [personnel], just for depth reasons alone, for sure. So, I don’t think it’ll drastically change things for us, but Coker is a good player. He did a lot for them in terms of the run game, blocking, but also, he has some wiggle and can run. Coker and Hunter are different players. I think that’s probably where you’ll see a little bit of a different usage out of those players that will and can affect how we play a little bit, but I’m not sure it’ll have a huge, drastic issue on the game plan.”

Carolina announced that they had signed Renfrow off the open market at the same time the news broke of Coker's placement on IR. It's certainly a loss for the Panthers, but it's far from a guaranteed victory for the Jaguars.