There’s no other way to put it, the first week of the 2024 NFL season was a complete disaster for the Carolina Panthers . It’s understandable that there would be some rust to kick off the tires in the first week of the season, but the Panthers’ struggles in their first game of the year went well beyond that. They simply got boat-raced by the New Orleans Saints , and it’s clear that their efforts to build the weapons up around quarterback Bryce Young aren’t paying dividends yet.
Young struggled all day , going 13/30 for just 161 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions on the way to a 47-10 Panthers’ loss. There was a clear effort to get the ball to their new weapons, Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette, as the two combined for 12 targets on the day. However, they only combined for six receptions and 54 yards.
It paints a grim picture, but it is important to remember it’s just the first week of the season. This is prime overreaction season, and it’s entirely possible that the first week was just an aberration. The Panthers could turn things around and the chemistry between Young and his wide receivers, primarily Johnson and Leggette, could grow. However, that is a lot of hypotheticals, and even if the offense turns around, they could still use more options in the offense for the young quarterback.
There are a number of wide receivers still available on the free agent market, but it’s the trade market that one NFL analyst has the Panthers looking towards to further bolster their wide receiver corps. Kristopher Knox, NFL analyst for Bleacher Report, has released his “ trade block big board ” heading into Week 2, and he has the Panthers as a possible landing spot for Tennessee Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks.
Burks comes in at #9 on Knox’s big board mostly for the acclaim he came into the league with. Burks was widely seen as one of the top wide receivers coming into the 2022 NFL Draft . He was a late-first rounder according to Bleacher Report's scouting department , and the Titans took him with the 18th pick in the first round. That may have been a bit of a reach, but it was seen as within his range of possibilities.
It has been a struggle for Burks since coming into the league. Burks is entering his third season with the team, and to date he has just 50 receptions for 667 yards and one touchdown for his career. He’s been little more than an afterthought on a team that has struggled with wide receiver talent in their own right.
Still, the potential is there. Burks was a first round pick for a reason and a change of scenery could be what Burks needs to revitalize his career. There are ties between the Panthers organization and Burks, as their current wide receivers coach, Rob Moore, was the position coach for the Titans the past two seasons. Whether or not that works in Burks favor or would be a detriment to him remains to be seen, but it could help facilitate talks between the two sides.
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