As much as it's improved over the last few seasons, the Carolina Panthers' wide receiver room isn't exactly the most star-studded the NFL has to offer. But that doesn't mean the team's braintrust won't have a hard time deciding who to keep in it.
Head coach Dave Canales chatted with reporters following Friday night's 16-13 preseason win over the Houston Texans. He was asked how difficult it'll be to land on a group of receivers as the team cuts down to their initial 53-man roster this weekend.
"Extremely difficult, exactly what we want," Canales replied. "We wanna have those conversations. We're talking about John Metchie, we're talking about Jimmy Horn, Ja'seem Reed—all those guys who've had a really amazing camp.
"David Moore has just been consistent
throughout the whole time. He was able to play some special teams today to kinda show what he can do in that regard. We hadn't given him a lot of [opportunities], but wanted him to get out there because we just wanna see. We think of him in that realm like Brycen Tremayne—an impact player on special teams who we also trust offensively. And we wanted to get him out there and give him more opportunities.
"It's great room, love the competition, love the way the guys are making the decisions really hard on us."
Moore, who goes back with Canales to their days in Seattle and Tampa Bay, was the Panthers' second-leading receiver in the preseason finale—as he notched three grabs, all first downs, for 34 yards. He was trumped only by the second-year standout in Reed, who brought in a pair of receptions for 37 yards.
Those two, as Canales alluded to, are competing with the likes of Horn and Metchie—both of whom have also shown up throughout the summer. Horn has displayed his multi-faceted game as a speedster while Metchie entered the night as Carolina's most productive pass catcher of the preseason.
The only locks seem to be 2025 AP Offensive Player of the Year Tetairoa McMillan, the recently-extended Jalen Coker and 2024 first-round pick Xavier Legette. Fourth-year veteran Brycen Tremayne, given his value on special teams, seems like a solidified member of the roster as well.
If so, that could leave just two or three more open spots for a bunch that has made quite an impression over the last month.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: HC Dave Canales gives intriguing insight into deciding which WRs the Panthers decide to keep
