Carolina Panthers 2026 off-season fan mailbag: WR talent, Matt Rhule, hypothetical trades, and more!

Dec 21, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (17) runs against Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Benjamin Morrison (21) during the first half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! We're sneaking right into June as we slowly progress back to REAL football, and you all have been active in the comments. I'm here to answer some questions, whether they be Panthers related, football related, or even completely off topic! Let's dive right in!

schrodingersblackcat: How would you rank our WR talent (on paper) among the 32 teams of the NFL?

I'm going to go with 16 for now. Tetairoa McMillan is obviously a WR1, Jalen Coker showed the promise to be a great WR2, and the Panthers have a ton of young talent behind them in Chris Brazzell and hopefully a major rebound season from Xavier Legette. The unit is young, so there's a lot of upside. But I can't put them in the top 10 until we see the production on the field, obviously the quarterback's performance also is a factor there.

@WTMealey: The last 10 seasons approximately 60% of games are one score games 8 points or less. Also saw where almost 80% are within one score going down the stretch" I assume that means in the 4th quarter and maybe the winning team pulls ahead by another score. So some 8+ point losses weren't as bad as the score with maybe a late pick 6 when a team was close to tieing the game. Of course some one score games aren't close and there is a garbage time TD that makes it close. But we know that there is parity and the Panthers seem to be in the tier whose success or failure is very dependent on how they do in close games.

Once score games are the main difference IMO between the 6-10 win teams. Compare the 2025 Panthers to the 2026 Panthers in how they are constructed to win those games?

I think this version of the Panthers is better built to win one score games, and they have the chance to keep games closer, as a few of their losses last year were very bad score wise. Having additional defensive line talent compared to the 2025 iteration will help a ton, especially since Jaelan Phillips will headline the pass rushers where they didn't really have a headliner at the EDGE group last season. Devin Lloyd will also help as he was a high impact linebacker who made several game changing plays in 2025 on defense. I think the biggest difference between 2026 and 2025 is having more high end play makers who can impact a game, as we saw with Derrick Brown as he basically single handedly put away the Packers and made a huge pass deflection against the Rams that resulted in an interception (by Nick Scott) in the regular season. Adding two more guys on defense who can have that kind of impact should be a good thing, but its all about making the play when the opportunity arises.

Mozzie11: Would the Panthers be wise to draft more GA players while also steering clear of MR by as wide a margin as possible?

I linked your whole question/comment so people can see context, but drafting players from Georgia certainly seems like a very adequate strategy. I also think that while we all still feel burned by Matt Rhule, and no matter how many top 25 games he doesn't win in college, that should not preclude the Panthers from drafting players from under his wing. They actually had a few really good players during his time in Carolina that cut their teeth under his tutelage in college.

joecats: Hi Brian, what is the plan with Brady Christensen? Are we going to bring him back? Seems like he is a low risk vet even coming off that injury. He has shown great toughness and position flexibility that everybody wants.

Christensen ruptured his Achilles tendon in week 8 of last season. That injury typically takes at least a year to come back from in any capacity, and awhile longer for the player to return to form, if they ever even do. So I don't know if there's really a plan for BC short of just keeping his number and checking in to see how he's recovering. Its entirely possible he misses the whole 2026 season while he rehabs.

Bosco62: What are the odds that Haines King makes the 53 in lieu of Kenny Pickett or Will Grier? To me it just seems like he is the type of QB that we would want to back up Bryce. I thought he was really good for GA tech last year and was very surprised he was not drafted in at least round 3 or 4.

Its definitely possible Haynes King makes the 53 man roster over Will Grier, who has basically just been spinning his wheels holding a clip board since the Panthers let him go after spending a 3rd round selection on him. But I really wouldn't get my hopes up with that one. King is going to need a lot of seasoning at the NFL speed before he could be considered a startable asset, based on all the scouting reports I've read with him. I know he's an exciting UDFA prospect, but the practice squad is likely where he ends up.

JakeNCVA: Do we expect there to be a noticeable difference in Brad Idzik calling the plays instead of Dave Canales. Canales and Idzik have been together long enough that I'm sure Brad knows what Dave wants and what he is thinking. I feel like Canales is going to give lots of input on gameday because he cant help himself, to the effect we won't notice a difference and thus part two: Will Bryce Young have to adjust to another new play caller"? or will it be a seamless transfer since Brad is going to be doing the same thing Dave would do.

I don't expect any kind of huge noticeable difference in play calling between Idzik and Canales. Idzik isn't going to change the scheme, he's calling the plays inside the established system, and he's been Canales' right hand man for years now. I don't see this as an adjustment period for Bryce, especially since Canales will still be present for much of the decisions on GameDay. I agree with many that this seems to be a way to get Dave more focused on being the head coach and delegating things to someone he knows and trusts to run the system he has put in place. I'm really not concerned at this point.

Chef: Can you please explain to my why professional wrestling is getting as much, if not more, attention on ESPN than traditional sports? It's so bizarre. I feel like every time I flip to it, there's some wrestler I've never heard of running their mouth about something. Can you please make it stop?

FINALLY! Another wrestling question as your resident wrestling nerd. The reason is ESPN now has the rights to most of WWE's Premium Live Events, and they are trying to market it to their general sports audience in the hopes they will tune in and pay for the subscription. I can see why it would be bizarre to someone who doesn't really watch wrestling, but it makes perfect sense since they want to build some intrigue for the money maker shows that ESPN paid a high price for.

plancos: Here is a hypothetical question: Suppose XL balls out in training camp and a team makes a decent trade offer. Do you flip him for a draft pick? Or hold on to him in the belief that he has finally turned the corner and this is the year he figures it out?

If Xavier Legette has himself an excellent preseason, I would expect some kind of trade offers to come in. However, in this hypothetical scenario, I still don't think the Panthers net more than a 4th rounder since his stock has declined quite a bit, and every team always has a training camp darling at wide receiver. I'd probably elect to keep him unless Brazzell, Brycen Tremayne, or Jimmy Horn Jr also thrive in the off-season and essentially make him expendable.

allstarr: Hey Brian, I really hope that Coker exceeds all of most of our expectations, but two years of quad injuries and showing up out of shape last spring gives me a bit of doubt. Is that concern justified?

Dave Canales did mention last off-season they had Jalen Coker on a regiment to try and get him into the shape they wanted. I assume this was tied to his history of those types of injuries keeping him sidelined. He definitely seemed to look in better shape in the OTA videos I've seen, but we won't really know until the preseason has come and gone and he's taking the expected starter snaps in the regular season. So yes, I'd say the concern is justified.

Thanks for all your questions this week. Join us again for another round of questions next week, and KEEP POUNDING!