Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
#4. Steve Smith, Sr
Throughout the history of sports, there have been many players who play with a chip on their shoulder. This skill of turning extrinsic motivation intrinsic has allowed countless players to go beyond their limits and dominate their opponents. Steve Smith might have had the largest chip ever. Standing at just 5’9” and weighing under 200 pounds, Smith was overlooked by major college programs. He started his collegiate career at Santa Monica College before transferring to Utah for his junior campaign. Smith immediately made an impact, especially on special teams, scoring 11 total touchdowns including an NCAA high three punt return touchdowns. His senior season in 2000 was not as spectacular, but he still averaged over 20 yards per reception.
The lack of definitive improvement from his junior season to his senior year led to him dropping down draft boards, which turned out to be incredibly lucky for the Carolina Panthers. In the 2001 NFL Draft, the Panthers took Dan Morgan in the first round, Kris Jenkins in the second, and finally took Smith in the third round. Despite major pundits like The Sporting News declaring that the team wasted a third round pick on a guy who would just be a punt returner, Smith became a dominant force on the offense just as the other two became dominant pieces for Carolina’s defense. The pundits weren’t wrong about Smith’s impact on special teams, either. On his first career touch, Smith took the opening kickoff of the 2001 season against the Minnesota Vikings 93 yards for a touchdown, one of three return touchdowns his rookie year (two kickoff returns, one punt return). Smith ended up being one of the few bright spots in that doomed 2001 season, earning Pro Bowl and First Team All Pro honors as a returner.
The 2002 season showed flashes of what would come from the wide receiver Steve Smith. Paired up with Muhsin Muhammad, the duo put up some decent stats despite less than stellar quarterback play. As was the case for most Panthers, it was 2003 that really shone a spotlight on Smith’s talent. He exploded onto the scene with 88 catches for 1,110 yards and seven touchdowns, adding another punt return touchdown for good measure. His impact went beyond the box score, however, as he became new quarterback Jake Delhomme’s favorite target. The unforgettable Super Bowl run was largely driven by a dominant defense, but Smith provided the offensive fireworks necessary for the team to advance. His 32 yard touchdown catch in the third quarter of the Wild Card game against the Dallas Cowboys all but sealed the win for the Panthers, his now infamous 69 yard “X-Clown” touchdown reception in double overtime against the Rams pushed the team into the NFC Championship Game, and he added a game-tying 39 yard touchdown in the second quarter of the Super Bowl.
While the Panthers would not see team success of that nature for another dozen years, Smith blossomed into one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Despite breaking his leg in the first game of the 2004 season, he returned at full strength in 2005, winning the receiving triple crown (though only tied for first in receiving touchdowns). His line of 103 catches for 1.563 yards and 12 touchdowns were video game numbers. Those 103 catches would be Panthers single season records until some guy named Christian McCaffrey came along seven years later, and the 1,563 receiving yards is still a Panthers record. For the second time in his five year career, Smith was named to the Pro Bowl and First Team All Pro roster while also taking home the Comeback Player of the Year Award. He would go on to make three more Pro Bowls (2006, 2008, and 2011) and a Second Team All Pro nod in 2008. With the arrival of new Face of the Franchise Cam Newton, Smith struggled to take on more of a secondary role. While his production was still bordering on elite until 2013, there was always an undercurrent of strife between him and Cam. That sense of locker room distraction combined with the Panthers wanting to get younger and cheaper at the position led to the team releasing Smith in March of 2014. Two days later, he signed with the Baltimore Ravens. He would end up playing three years with the Ravens, even eclipsing the thousand yard mark in 2014. Smith’s contract with the Ravens expired in 2017, and a lack of interest from other teams led to his retirement.
Steve Smith’s legacy in Carolina goes well beyond stats, though he holds some incredible receiving marks in Panthers history: he’s the all-time Panthers leader in targets (1,438), catches (836), yards (12,197), touchdowns (67), and yards per game (67). He also leads the team in punt returns (178), punt return yards (1,652), punt return touchdowns (4), and longest punt return (87 yards), while finishing second only to Michael Bates in kickoff returns (98), kickoff return yards (2,371), and kickoff return touchdowns (2). Smith finished his career in the top ten in NFL history in all-purpose yards and should be a Hall of Famer at some point. But it’s not the numbers that matter to Panthers fans, it’s the moments: X-Clown, the 2006 playoff game against the Bears, the sideline quotes, the touchdown celebrations, breaking his arm and still scoring a touchdown against the Giants in 2009, grabbing Malcom Jenkins and dragging him by the facemask after scoring a touchdown against the Saints in 2011, and even (unfortunately) the “blood and guts” game against the Panthers in 2014. Despite all the numbers he racked up on the field, the only number that matters at the end of the day to Panthers fans? 89. Bottom line.
