Hunter Renfrow’s playing time shifted in Panthers’ win. Here’s why it’s no worry
Ask for an explanation of why wide receiver Hunter Renfrow’s playing time dipped in the Carolina Panthers’ win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3, and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik will remind you of something obvious.
“Not to be facetious, but everybody dropped in snaps a little bit from the Arizona game,” Idzik said.
That’s fair enough. The Panthers (1-2) played a total of 85 offensive snaps on that Sunday in the team’s roarous comeback attempt against the Cardinals. It’s true too that Bryce Young threw the ball 55 times in Week 2, which inflated Renfrow’s playing time. A natural drop for Renfrow would thus make sense.
Still, look a bit closer, and it wasn’t a ho-hum playing-time decrease. It was significant. Renfrow played 42 snaps Week 1, or 66% of the offensive snaps. In Week 2, he played 69 snaps (81%) — and caught two touchdowns in the process, his first multi-touchdown game since the 2021 season finale.
Then, in Week 3’s 30-0 win over the team’s NFC South rival, his playing time dropped to 17 snaps (29%).
Such a drop could make a close Panthers observer wonder. But as Idzik elaborated on Thursday, the decrease in play is a product of situational football — and far from a result of Renfrow’s play.
“We were throwing the ball around the yard in the Arizona game, and rotating really all of the receivers,” Idzik said. “All the active receivers and tight ends got a lot of burn when we got up to the 90-play mark.
“But last week, I think it attributes to two things: We’re running the ball. Brycen Tremayne has had a great role for us being that third receiver. Hunter still has a ton of value. We had a cool little middle-screen to him down there late to kind of couple with some of the run game things we’re asking some of those guys to do. But he’s done a good job. He’s done a good job.”
Renfrow has the second-most yards out of the team’s receivers behind rookie Tetairoa McMillan. The 29-year-old veteran has 11 receptions on 19 targets for 65 yards and two touchdowns. Right behind him in receiving yards is his fellow receiver in the slot — Tremayne — who has five receptions on seven targets for 63 yards.
The two are naturally grouped together, in terms of what they can bring to the offense. But Idzik knows there is plenty of room for each of them.
“There are going to be roles for both of them,” Idzik said. “I think, in honor of keeping both those guys fresh, Brycen plays a lot on special teams, we ask Hunter to do a lot in our situational football: when we’re out there in 2-minute, when we’re out there in the red zone, in the third-down. You do see him naturally more (then).
“So however the game shakes out, when it’s first or second down, we want to make sure those guys’ reps are balanced so we’re getting the full version of themselves in the fourth quarter.”
Renfrow’s fluctuating role is more a product of the Panthers’ offense adjusting to the game’s circumstances. Similar reasoning can be applied when dissecting the playing time uptick veteran wideout David Moore saw Sunday; Moore played 56 snaps Sunday (97%), which is more than every other offensive player who is not a lineman or who doesn’t have the last name Young.
None of the three contests the Panthers have played bear much of a resemblance to each other. Against the Jaguars, a few big lapses in the run game and turnovers put the game out of reach early. Against the Cardinals, early turnovers put the Panthers behind the proverbial 8-ball, but they clawed their way back in the short- to intermediate-passing game. Then against the Falcons, the offense relied on defense and special teams to dominate the contest.
Considering all this, too, it’s fair to say that the Panthers could still be ironing out their identity. That not only applies to Renfrow but also Young’s fluctuating days. The third-year quarterback went 16-of-24 for 121 yards and one rushing touchdown in the blowout win against the Falcons — and that was fresh off a week in Arizona in which he notched career highs in passing yards (328), pass attempts (35) and completions (55).
Idzik had an explanation at the ready for this, too.
“It goes right back to there are plenty of ways to win a game,” Idzik said. “We’re just trying to find the one avenue that makes sense that week: when the defense is playing well, we’re playing good ball, we’re protecting the football. I thought he made good choices of getting the ball out.
“On third down, there were a couple of those we were really close on. A couple of those specifically to TMac. We had one screen play. Another one where we had a free hitter, and he’s trying to get the ball out to TMac. But he did a good job of protecting the ball, of not putting it in harm’s way, but then also just getting it out on time to make sure that the rush wasn’t a factor.”
Idzik added that “while the stats say what they do” — and while he may have missed a deep shot or two that would’ve made his yardage total look a bit better — Young is still “extending plays, getting the ball out, and that’s really what we keep putting our thumb down on every single week.”
“It’s about staying above the (play) clock, staying on your feet, and when the play breaks down, continuing to extend,” Idzik said. “Because that’s a big piece of our offense that’s special.”
Panthers injury report from Thurday, ahead of Week 4
See the Panthers’ injury report from Thursday below. The team releases player game designations on Friday afternoon.
Did not practice: OLB Pat Jones II (hamstring), WR Xavier legette (hamstring), TE Ja’Tavion Sanders (ankle), OLB DJ Wonnum (hip).
Limited: RB Chuba Hubbard (calf), WR Tetairoa McMillan (calf), DL Turk Wharton (hamstring).
Others who showed up on the injury report on Wednesday who were full-go Thursday: RB Rico Dowdle, CB Jaycee Horn, OL Taylor Moton and WR Hunter Renfrow.
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 12:04 PM.
