Film study: Devin Funchess makes Carolina Panthers a matchup nightmare

The addition of Devin Funchess to the Carolina offense will give opposing defensive coordinators fits trying to scheme against the Panthers.

Carolina has Kelvin Benjamin as the clear No. 1, speed options in Ted Ginn Jr. and Corey Brown, and one of the best tight ends in the league in Greg Olsen. To that group the Panthers have added a rookie from Michigan with the potential to be a No. 2 receiver who works primarily in intermediate routes but has the ability to catch the deep ball.

“You throw Teddy Ginn, Jr. out there and Corey Brown, now all of a sudden you’ve got two guys that go fast, two guys that are big targets,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said after the team drafted Funchess. “You’ve got different combinations of guys that are going to pose some match-up problems.”

Carolina picked Funchess with the 41st overall pick in the second round of the draft on Friday. The Panthers traded their third- and sixth-round picks to the Rams to take the spot. While the price to move up 16 spots could be considered steep, NFL.com’s Michael Silver reported six teams called the Rams about taking the 41st spot before the Panthers ultimately got it.

Film of Funchess shows the 6-foot-4, 232-pound receiver can line up both inside and outside. He has some after-the-catch speed despite his slow 40 time at the scouting combine. Overall, he’s a good blocking receiver with some faults. He needs work on his comeback routes and securing the catch, but he shows a physicality on route running with a smart use of his hands that will be crucial in the NFL.

Funchess dropped 8.8 percent of passes thrown his way, slightly more than the NCAA average of 8.3 from last season. But he has good instincts, opting to use his hands to make the catch rather than trapping the ball against his chest.

He doesn’t attack the ball in the air very well, but I was able to find a few times where he flashed in that area. The best example came in the season opener against Appalachian State when he picked the ball out of the air over two Mountaineers defenders while getting a foot down inbounds for the score.

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The most impressive aspect of Funchess’ game is how well he uses his hands in routes. In the NFL, receivers can get away with more contact, evidenced by 105 offensive pass interference penalties called in 2014 compared with 215 defensive pass interference penalties.

In the clip linked here, Funchess works off press coverage against Notre Dame and uses his 33-inch arms to keep a distance from cornerback. That separation allows him to catch the ball and secure it despite a late hand by the defender.

Funchess has been called a “lazy blocker,” but I’m not really seeing it. In the four games I watched, Michigan only won once, but I still see Funchess trying to block his guy.

He’s at his best as a downfield blocker – something the Panthers have missed since not re-signing Brandon LaFell last offseason. He’s also a better blocker in the run game when lined up outside as a receiver rather than inside as a tight end.

What is concerning about his blocking is that I saw him on at least three occasions barely block at all when his quarterback improvised and started to run. If he’s going to be on the field with Cam Newton as his quarterback, he’ll have to do some of that.

On this run by Devin Gardner, you’ll see Funchess (1) at the bottom of the screen not get a hat on one of the several swarming Utes.

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I’ve also seen experts say Funchess doesn’t have after-the-catch speed. He did run a 4.70 40 at the combine, but he followed that up with a 4.47 at his pro day. His game speed shows up on tape, though, including on this catch and run against Notre Dame.

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Perhaps most perplexing about Funchess is how easily he goes down. Rivera mentioned that, like Benjamin, he can take a big hit, and the film reflects that. But he also has a tendency to be tackled by his shoestrings. Still, I don’t see him shying away from contact.

The term “tweener” is thrown around a lot during the draft, and I’m not sure it applies to Funchess. While he has the size and (lack of) speed of a tight end, he has speed after the catch and I don’t see him laboring in routes.

There’s also plenty of room to grow. Consider this: Kelvin Benjamin was 23 1/2 by the time his first training camp ended; Funchess will have just turned 21 by the time the Panthers are done in Spartanburg.

This story was originally published May 5, 2015 at 11:36 AM with the headline "Film study: Devin Funchess makes Carolina Panthers a matchup nightmare."