Carolina Panthers: Making Up for the Loss of Kelvin Benjamin

When Kelvin Benjamin went down during Wednesday’s joint practice between the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins, it delivered a huge blow to Carolina’s already unproven receiving corps. With a torn ACL, Benjamin will miss the entire 2015 season, according to ESPN's David Newton.

This is a huge blow to the team; there’s no way to sugarcoat it. The Panthers’ passing game last season was really a two-man affair with Benjamin and Greg Olsen. Benjamin defined the entire passing attack—it was almost entirely designed around his great size and physicality, setting him up with mismatches. It’s difficult for an average corner to deal with a 6’5” target like Benjamin.

His advanced statistics weren’t great, but that was more of a factor of the team forcing the ball to him so often. With the addition of Ted Ginn and Devin Funchess, the hope was that they would be able to spread the ball around, improving everyone’s efficiency.

Now, there’s a question as to who starts. If Funchess is ready, he’d be the best size comparison to Benjamin, but he’s not the dominant player that Benjamin is—at least, not yet.

Ginn’s not a starting receiver; his speed fits the role of a third receiver, but he’s simply not reliable to be an every-down reliable target.

Bill Wippert/Associated Press/Associated Press

Do the Panthers trust Corey Brown to keep developing? He was listed as the starter across from Benjamin during the first preseason game.

Do they go back to Jerricho Cotchery? The idea behind drafting Funchess was to not have to rely on Cotchery this season—or, at least, not as a starter.

The loss of Benjamin bumps everyone up on the depth chart one slot, and that’s a downgrade at every position. There isn’t a No. 1 receiver on this roster. Benjamin wasn’t quite there yet, but he had made great strides last season and through this preseason. He was also one of the most used receivers in the NFL last season—per Pro Football Focus, he had 142 targets last year, fifth-most in the NFL. That’s a lot of targets to try to make up.

If the Panthers don’t make a move, their best strategy is likely to have Brown and Funchess be their starting receivers, with Cotchery, Ginn, Jarrett Boykin and Damiere Byrd on the roster behind them. That’s not a particularly frightening lineup, frankly, and it’s not as good as last year’s corps on paper. However, with some rapid development by Funchess, the continued progress of Brown and the hope that Ginn and Cam Newton find their 2013 chemistry again, they might be able to run the same basic sort of passing offense they had last season.

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

It puts plenty of pressure on the running game to succeed as well. During the winning streak at the end of last season, the entire passing game was very much a complementary piece to the running attack of Jonathan Stewart. After their bye, Carolina averaged 185 yards rushing a game, the most in the NFL.

However, they only averaged 200 passing yards per game, ninth-least in the league. The passing game was very much an ancillary aspect of the offense when the Panthers were playing their best—they don’t need their receivers to suddenly become world-beaters. They just need to be good enough to take advantage of the opportunities provided when opposing defenses cheat extra players into the box to try to slow down the running attack.

Of course, there’s nothing that says the Panthers have to stick with the players already on their roster. While there may not be any world-beaters still available in free agency, there are players available who would help bolster the receiving corps, adding much needed experience.

AJ Mast/Associated Press/Associated Press

Reggie Wayne suffered from a torn triceps last season and was limited to just 779 yards. He also had only one reception in Indianapolis’ three postseason games. He’s no longer really a high-quality starter in the NFL. However, the Panthers don’t need a top receiver—he’d be an upgrade over Cotchery as a third or fourth receiver and serve as a mentor to young players like Funchess and Brown.

He’s not going to light the world on fire after suffering through surgeries on his ACL, triceps and knee in the past two years, and there’s always the chance he would rather retire in dignity than serve as a role player on a new team. However, I think it’s certainly worth giving him a call and kicking his proverbial tires.

Wes Welker is available as well and would be a very interesting player in the slot, but of course he has his own injury problems to deal with. Welker suffered three concussions in just over a year in Denver and is no longer a high-volume player.

If healthy—and that’s a major if—he represents a different type of receiver. He’s not a speedster like Brown or Ginn or a massive target like Olsen or Funchess. He’s the slot receiver who takes short passes and turns them upfield. He might be worth at least bringing in for a tryout, if nothing else.

If you’re not a fan of receivers in their mid-30s coming off of injuries, you’re kind of out of luck. Besides Wayne and Welker, you’re looking at players like Donnie Avery (coming off of sports hernia surgery), Brad Smith (another sports hernia) or Brandon Lloyd (hamstring injury). There’s nothing there that really wows you.

Maybe the best receiver available not in his 30s would be Jerrel Jernigan. He’s still coming off of injuries—in this case, a mid-foot sprain—but at least he has youth on his side and has flashed potential when healthy. Again, though, that’s not going to come close to replacing what Benjamin can give you.

The Panthers really don’t have a way to replace Benjamin. They’re going to have to hope that everyone left in the corps takes a step forward this season and that the running game remains powerful and effective. Make no mistake: The loss of Benjamin significantly damages Carolina’s playoff chances.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the Carolina Panthers. Follow him @BryKno on twitter.