... - Sports - Pro - Panthers

Monday, May. 05, 2008

Panthers excited about potential of receivers

CHARLOTTE -- If it's hard for Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme to stay patient in his rehab, it's partly because it's been years since he had weapons like this.

With the first weekend minicamp in the books, it's clear that the Panthers' wide receivers are deeper than perhaps any point, at least any point since the Steve Smith/Muhsin Muhammad/Ricky Proehl trio of the Super Bowl run.

Smith's still here, of course, and they brought back Muhammad after his three-year cash-grab in Chicago. But with adding D.J. Hackett in free agency, the Panthers have the potential for so much more.

"That's what you try to do is re-group in the offseason," Panthers coach John Fox said Sunday. "That was an area, the wide receiver position, where we felt like we needed to add some depth, not just good players but good guys, too. I think we hit on both those guys."

Contrast that with last year, when their best choices were Keary Colbert and Drew Carter, guys who they let walk out the door with little more than best wishes. Both showed flashes, but ultimately disappointed the Panthers with their lack of development.

"I don't know much about what was here before. I'm not going to comment on that," Hackett said. "But from the looks of it now, it looks pretty good to me. We've got a lot of talent, and some age, but not too old. It looks good to me."

Whereas the Panthers had options in the past, they have far more this season. When you consider they usually keep five or six receivers on the 53-man roster, the competition's going to be tough this year. You have second-year men Dwayne Jarrett and Ryne Robinson and former practice-squader Jason Carter heading a solid group of reserves that includes Josh Davis and Chris Hannon, and there will be tough cuts this year.

Carter in particular's been an eye-opener in minicamp, making play after play, and earning the seal of approval from Smith after Saturday's practice-closing one-handed grab.

• MORE TO COME: Delhomme threw again Sunday morning (he took the afternoons off Friday and Saturday), mixing in a few deeper routes. And there's a chance he could even take some snaps when they resume practices later this month.

"It's all possible, but we'll be cautious," Fox said of mixing Delhomme into team drills.

Delhomme's remained conservative in his comeback from Tommy John surgery, but said everything seems on target after the weekend.

"Things are going well," he said. "We're on a good program right now and things are on the right course. I'm extremely, extremely pleased."

• PUSH UP THE MIDDLE: Fox acknowledged the shift in the way he wanted to use his defensive tackles this year, particularly starter Damione Lewis and backup Darwin Walker.

In the absence of the traded Kris Jenkins, the Panthers are going to use his replacements as "under" tackles, meaning they'll be given one gap to cover, in hopes they can generate more pass-rush. Fellow defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu will stay inside in more of a nose tackle technique, allowing the other one to shoot upfield.

"We had to do things to get a better pass rush," Fox said. "Those two big guys (Kemoeatu and Jenkins) were really good on the run, but you still need some speed and quickness to rush the passer.

"We are taking a little bit different approach there, in particular with at least one of the defensive tackles. We'll see how that works out."

The Panthers also appear to have a more athletic package for passing downs. Through minicamp, they worked ends Julius Peppers and Stanley McClover along with Lewis and Tyler Brayton inside in their nickel package.

• EXTRA POINTS: The Panthers will reconvene on May 28 for at least three weeks of practices, and they should be mostly healthy. The only player sure to miss them will be rookie running back Jonathan Stewart (toe), but he wouldn't have been allowed to work anyway, since he's at a school that works on the quarter system, and he hasn't graduated yet.

Oregon teammate Geoff Schwartz will be able to practice since he already has his degree. ...

One of the more interesting positions when it comes to cuts will be whether they keep kicker Rhys Lloyd just to handle kickoff duties. He was belting them into and through the end zone Sunday, and he could be worth the spot since the Panthers gave up considerable field position last year. ...

Quarterback Matt Moore leaned back on his days as a baseball prospect Sunday morning, beaning a pair of players. He hit guard Keydrick Vincent and Kemoeatu in their heads with passes early in the workout. At least they were both change-ups since it was during the walk-through portion.