A series of star wide receivers were hit with the franchise tag before the NFL's Tuesday deadline The Cincinnati Bengals applied the tag to Tee Higgins and the Indianapolis Colts did the same with Michael Pittman Jr. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers agreed to an extension with franchise icon Mike Evans.  As a result, there aren't a ton of great wide receivers that will be available on the open market. But there will be at least one marquee receiver to hit free agency: Former Arizona Cardinal Marquise Brown, and teams like the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets should go hard after him on the open market.

Carolina Panthers

There isn't a team in the NFL who needs a dynamic wide receiver more than the Carolina Panthers. That statement hurts even more for considering the Panthers traded DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears as part of the package that netted them Bryce Young in last year's NFL draft. That move had a big impact in the worst way as Young transitioned to professional football. Carolina just did not have the receivers to make life easier for him.

That graph encapsulates what Young had to work with as a rookie quite well. There are more stats that don't do his supporting cast justice, either. Young's receivers generated just 1.9 yards of separation in 2023, according to playerprofiler.com. That ranked 63rd among quarterbacks. Ouch. Young's receivers also dropped 17 passes, which was 15th among the position.

There just wasn't much for Young to rely on in Carolina's receiver room. Veteran Adam Thielen was the only player on the Panthers' roster to exceed 550 receiving yards in 2023. Even his production was a bit of fool's gold. Thielen got off to a very strong start, putting up 443 yards in a four-game stretch that began in Week 3. He had three games exceeding 100 yards and scored three touchdowns. But in the other 13 games of the 2023 season, Thielen racked up just 571 yards and one touchdown.

It wasn't much better from the remaining crew of receivers. DJ Chark Jr. generated just 1.14 yards per route run, which ranked 77th among wide receivers. Rookie Jonathan Mingo put up 0.80 yards per route run. Not only did that finish 93rd among receivers in 2023, but it was one of the worst marks put up by a rookie receiver in NFL history.

The Panthers have to find a receiver for Bryce Young in the worst way possible. It doesn't help hey don't have a first-round pick at their disposal to find one of the better pass-catchers in the 2024 NFL Draft. Luckily, this year's draft is super deep at that position. But it wouldn't hurt to find an established veteran who they know they can count upon. Marquise Brown would be that guy.

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New York Jets

Offensive line is the most pressing need for the New York Jets, but they could use another wide receiver as well. Garrett Wilson (95 receptions, 1,042 yards, and three touchdowns in 2023) shined last season amid arguably the worst quarterback situation in the NFL, but none of his fellow wide receivers joined him for the ride. The Jets' second and third-leading receivers last season were a tight end (Tyler Conklin) and running back (Breece Hall).

After Wilson, the wide receiver with the most yards on the team was Allen Lazard with just 311. Lazard generated just 0.7 yards per route run, even worse than what Mingo and Chark were able to muster. That's not going to cut it for anybody, let alone someone who signed a four-year, $44 million extension last offseason.

The Jets would be wise to find a running mate for Wilson. Marquise Brown might be the best player they can find who fits that description.