An updated look at the free agent wide receiver landscape

Teams have been making moves as the new league year approaches, and it’s affected which wide receivers are available in free agency.

The Carolina Panthers have a need at wide receiver, and I’ve been sure to bludgeon all of the readers with wide receiver content because of that. Today is no different. We did this exercise a little over a month ago, but teams have made moves since then and the list of available or possibly available wide receivers has changed.

Who’s off the board

Tee Higgins was probably the wide receiver that was commonly linked to the Panthers in free agency, but the Bengals made sure to not let that come to fruition. They slapped the franchise tag on Higgins, meaning he’s staying in Cincinnati unless someone swings a trade for him. The Colts did the same thing with Michael Pittman, but that was never really a doubt so it was hardly news.

The big pie in the sky dream that some fans had was Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans, who could opt to leave his longtime home in Tampa Bay to follow the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach he had for one year to Carolina. He, with some advice from his wife, decided to reup with the Buccaneers for two more years.

Who’s available now that wasn’t before

We talked about Mike Williams has a potential cap casualty in that first piece. That hasn’t happened yet, but indications are it will in the next few days.

It’s been quiet otherwise. The Chiefs released Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He’s not a terrible option, but I don’t think he’d spark any excitement from the fan base. It would feel like re-signing DJ Chark with a different name. The Steelers released Allen Robinson, who used to be really good but I think most people forgot he was even still in the NFL at this point.

The top targets now

This list is largely the same as the first time around since nothing crazy unexpected has happened. If the Panthers want to target a potential number one option, Calvin Ridley and Marquise Brown are probably their best bets. Maybe Mike Williams if and when he becomes available.

There are a few burners that the Panthers need to provide some semblance of a deep threat. Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been added to that list. Gabe Davis from Buffalo is probably a better, younger, and more interesting option though if the Panthers can convince him to sign here.

Here are a couple of other interesting names we haven’t talked about yet:

• Braxton Berrios – He’s from Raleigh, so it would be a homecoming for the slot man. He’s been a good returner and depth wide receiver for both the Jets and the Dolphins. He could do the same here.
• Darnell Mooney – Mooney is just two seasons removed from a 1,000 yard season, and he’s still only 26 years old. He was a prime breakout candidate multiple times during his Bears career but never quite put it all together. He’s a good candidate to see if he just needed a change of scenery.
• Donovan People-Jones – Like Mooney, People-Jones is a couple of seasons removed from a productive campaign and is still young. He’s a big bodied receiver that has made his fair share of highlight catches in his career. He just turned 25, so there’s plenty of room for growth still.
• Nick Westrbook-Ikhine – Like Mooney, Westbrook-Ikhine has had a couple of seasons where people thought he would elevate his play. That never quite happened, but perhaps it still could. He’s another big bodied wide receiver that’s pretty consistently brought decent production as a depth wide receiver.