The 2023-24 NFL campaign was not kind to the Carolina Panthers. Not only did they trade up to the No. 1 overall pick to draft Bryce Young over CJ Stroud, they gave up the number one overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft and DJ Moore in the process to do so. It turns out, trading away the best receiver on your team was a big problem as is an area the Panthers have to address in the 2024 NFL offseason. Moore enjoyed a career season with the Chicago Bears this season, while Carolina's best receiver, 33-year-old Adam Thielen, was primarily deployed as a dink-and-dunk specialist.

Carolina's lack of production from their wide receiver room was a big reason why the Panthers ranked 29th in the NFL in EPA per play on offense and 30th in EPA per dropback on offense. It didn't help that they started a rookie quarterback for the majority of the season and he was behind an offensive line that ranked 23rd in pass rush win rate and 30th in run block win rate according to ESPN.com. But the production Carolina got from their wide receivers was dreadful outside of Adam Thielen. It's why wide receiver is the number one need for the Panthers to address in 2024.

Panthers must upgrade WR room

Veteran receiver Adam Thielen voiced his frustrations with the officiating during the Panthers-Packers game, Bryce Young breakout

How bad was Carolina's wide receiver production in 2024? Very bad. Adam Thielen was the only player on the team who registered more than 550 receiving yards in 2023, and even he wasn't able to sustain that production over all 17 games. Through Carolina's first six games of the 2023 season before their Week 7 bye week, Thielen racked up 509 yards. Those 509 yards weren't very far off from the top of the league at the time.

But Thielen's production stumbled mightily over Carolina's last ten games. From Week 8 on, Thielen managed to accrue only 505 yards. Maybe age began to catch up on Thielen or teams began to key on him and dare others to beat them. Regardless, Thielen was not the same guy after the Panthers' bye week and no one else stepped up.

There are more numbers to back up Carolina's need for more pass catchers. Bryce Young's receivers posted just 1.9 yards of separation throughout the 2023 season according to playerprofiler.com. That number ranked 63rd among quarterbacks. This chart shows it all.

That's just simply not good enough. Young did struggle mightily as a rookie, but he also frequently had nowhere to go with the ball to even give himself a chance. Despite that, he was still highly accurate to give those players a chance. And even when they did get open, Carolina receivers dropping passes from Young was not an abnormal occurrence.

Luckily for the Panthers, there will be plenty of chances for them to add to their wide receiver room. They may not have their first round pick, but they have their pick in rounds 2-4, which will be the first pick in those rounds. A player like Georgia's Ladd McConkey, Oregon's Troy Franklin, LSU's Brian Thomas Jr., or Texas' Adonai Mitchell or Xavier Worthy should be available with their second-round pick. They should be thrilled if even one of them is available with that pick.

There are plenty of free agents to choose from as well. Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, and Michael Pittman Jr. are slated to become free agents, but it's likely those players stay with their respective teams. Someone like former Panther Curtis Samuel, Marquise Brown, or Gabe Davis could be more attainable on the open market and would help the Panthers as well.

The Panthers have a lot of work to do. But their wide receiver room was an abomination in 2023. Improving that area of their team should be Carolina's priority in 2024.