Whenever the Panthers came up this offseason, it didn’t take long before their situation at wide receiver was part of the discussion.
The team said goodbye to every wide receiver that caught a pass for them last season and plenty of people were underwhelmed by the replacements that General Manager Dave Gettleman brought to town. Jason Avant, Jerricho Cotchery, Tiquan Underwood and first-round pick Kelvin Benjamin may not be inspiring rave reviews outside of the team, but tight end Greg Olsen says that people are “going to be happy” with what the group does when the season gets underway.
“It’s kind of been the storyline of the offseason. Any time the Panthers have come up that’s kind of been the first comment made by everybody. I think guys are just kind of tired of it,” Olsen said, via the Charlotte Observer. “I think we feel confident about our group. I think people are eager to get there, get to work and put together what works for us as an offense.”
Olsen also pointed out that the Panthers offense wasn’t predicated on big passing numbers while they were on their way to a division title last year. Losing Steve Smith will sting, but Ted Ginn, Brandon LaFell and Domenik Hixon weren’t putting up huge numbers and the Panthers did just fine thanks to their running game and defense. Losses on the offensive line could threaten the running game, which could present a much bigger obstacle for the Panthers to overcome than their perceived shortage at wideout.