Jalen Coker has made huge strides in Year 2. Panthers OC explains how he’s grown
The Panthers need all hands on deck as they enter the heart of their playoff push against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home on Sunday (1 p.m.). And second-year wideout Jalen Coker’s hands could be among the most valuable assets in the NFC South showdown this weekend.
Coker, who missed the first six games of the season with a quad strain injury, has started to ascend over the past few weeks. The Holy Cross alum has caught touchdowns in back-to-back games, and he has 15 catches for 218 receiving yards over the past four matchups.
Against the New Orleans Saints last week, Coker was the standout in the passing game, collecting four catches for 60 yards and a score.
Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik said Thursday that Coker’s recent improvement has given head coach Dave Canales and himself an extra playmaker to focus on in the aerial attack.
“He’s just the model of consistency right now,” Idzik said. “And he’s just doing a great job versus zone (coverage), versus man (coverage), after-the-catch — someone you can rely on. So, for us, it’s just another puzzle piece where you can put him in different spots, and he knows what to do.”
A Year 2 jump for Jalen Coker
Coker has evolved from humble beginnings in the NFL. He went undrafted as a rookie prospect and was cut following his first summer in Carolina.
Coker was stashed on the practice squad for a bit before being promoted to the 53-man roster due injuries midway through his rookie season. He received the occasional target here and there for a few weeks, before going on a late-season tear during quarterback Bryce Young’s well-publicized revival down the stretch of the 2024 season.
“I think he’d be the first to admit, as a rookie, he struggled early on to grasp the full playbook,” Idzik said. “And any time you’re thinking as a receiver, you’re not playing fast. So, that’s just not the case anymore. It wasn’t the case during the latter half of last year, going into the offseason and this year.”
Coker finished his rookie season with 32 catches for 478 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games (four starts). With the way he’s returned from injury over the past few weeks, he could eclipse all of those totals in the same amount of games this year.
“Once he got his legs back, and he overcame kind of the hiccup of his injury, you just saw the same guy who is now confident and attacks everything he does,” Idzik said.
That positive trajectory has come out of Coker’s improvement with the technical side of the game. Idzik has noticed Coker’s football IQ expand from Year 1 to Year 2.
“He’s now (thinking), ‘Okay, let me look across the line of scrimmage and see how I’m going to accomplish this route, how I’m going to get open, what the defense is presenting to me,’” Idzik said. “And you want to get all of your guys to that level as fast as you can.”
Coker could be top target with Tetairoa McMillan battling injuries
Over the past three games, rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan — the team’s first-round pick and No. 1 receiver — has seen just 13 targets for five catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Those numbers aren’t consistent with the explosion of production the rookie had in his first 11 games.
“We’ve just got to continue to put him in the best spots to execute,” Idzik said about McMillan. “And when those moments come up, when the look is right, we’ve got to cash in. So, there’s a couple of those (opportunities) that were just near-misses. But at the same time, as coaches, we put an onus on, ‘Okay, what are the best looks to get this guy involved and get our best players — whether it’s TMac, our running backs, really Jalen, all those guys, all of playmakers on the offense — what are our best chances to get them the ball early? Get them in a rhythm?’ And then as the game progress, continue to find those opportunities.
“We’ve got to continue to do that as a coaching staff, and that dialogue needs to happen during the game as things start to change a little bit.”
This week, McMillan is dealing with ankle and foot injuries sustained in the most recent loss to New Orleans.
With McMillan potentially limited (or worse) against Tampa Bay, Coker will probably need to step up in a big moment.
Luckily for the Panthers, Idzik has singled Coker out as the most improved offensive player from last year.
“He’s done a phenomenal job of just owning the playbook stuff, so that he can just play fast, and that’s shown up the last couple of weeks,” Idzik said. “That’s definitely a huge one for us.”
