How rookie Jimmy Horn could help the Carolina Panthers’ wide receiver woes
The Panthers’ wide receiver group, outside of first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan, is struggling to make consistent plays in the passing game.
Through four games, the Panthers have just 10 passing plays of 20 yards or more. McMillan lays claim to seven of those big plays, while running back Chuba Hubbard produced one on a garbage-time touchdown in Week 1.
Brycen Tremayne, a training camp underdog-turned-summer standout, is the only other offensive player with a catch of 20 yards or more. He has two of them.
The rest of group has been limited to short gains in weekly blowouts, whether those lopsided scores have been in the Panthers’ favor (like in Week 3) or not (all other games).
With David Moore (elbow) and Xavier Legette (hamstring) sidelined with injuries, head coach Dave Canales needs to find answers at the position beyond McMillan, who is on pace for 77 catches and 1,182 receiving yards on a 17-game projection.
“It’s something that we’re looking at to try to create some more explosives and try to get that ‘yards per’ up there,” Canales said Monday. “Right now, looking at the combination of the guys that we use, the style of passes that we use — we’re evaluating that all right now.”
The Panthers’ 1-3 start has featured little luster at the receiver position.
While McMillan has averaged an impressive 15.4 yards per catch, Tremayne is the only other wide receiver to average more than 10 yards per completion (12.4).
The wide receiver depth chart, minus McMillan, is averaging just 7.19 yards per reception. Hunter Renfrow, a former Pro Bowl wideout, is averaging just 5.8 yards per catch on 13 receptions.
Meanwhile, sixth-round pick Jimmy Horn Jr., a unique downfield threat in the offense, has been a healthy scratch throughout the first month of the season.
But with Moore dealing with a “week-to-week” status, Canales said Monday that he believes Horn will have a place within the game-day plan.
“We’ll get to see Jimmy Horn,” Canales said. “He’s got a great opportunity. We’re excited about it. Want to make sure that he’s able to go out there and give us significant reps. And we’ll carve out a role, because there’s certainly things he can bring to our offense, with his speed and ability to carry the ball and make yards. So, I’m excited for Jimmy to get this opportunity this week.”
Jalen Coker, who has been on injured reserve since Week 1, is eligible to return from the injured list as early as this week. While Coker might need some time to get acclimated in practice, his return should come in the near future.
Legette, who has been sidelined for the past two weeks, is also making progress on an eventual return.
“They’re progressing,” Canales said. “We’ll gather more information. Xavier had a good day today. But again, we’re going to take that — (with) Xaiver — really day to day, and still week to week with Coker to see where we’re at, as we challenge them with more of a load, that simulates what a game might be.
“Cause the first step is to get the player healthy. The second step is to make sure that he has the endurance and resilience to be able to handle significant reps.”
Quick hits
- Canales said he doesn’t anticipate any changes to the staff as of now. However, he acknowledged that he is still gathering information to make decisions on how to improve the squad.
- Canales said the team’s identity is “to play hard, with great effort and physicality. That continues to show up. We need to become a team that executes consistently.” He noted that the team had two great weeks of practice with completely opposite results.
- Canales said the offense “fizzled out” with miscues and sacks during the 42-13 loss to the New England Patriots. Canales said the team is looking at the past four games to figure out what needs to be fixed.
This story was originally published September 29, 2025 at 2:57 PM.
