Panthers 2021 season opener countdown: 88 days to go

We’re counting down the days until the Panthers kick off the 2021 season.

We’re 88 days away from the Carolina Panthers 2021 season opener, so that means today’s countdown piece is devoted to No. 88 on the roster — rookie wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr.

If there’s one guy who was overshadowed for most of his career at LSU it was Terrace Marshall Jr. Consider this: the national championship-winning LSU squad had current Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow throwing to current Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, rookie Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase and Marshall.

Marshall’s first year as LSU’s true number one came last year. Despite that, most of the year’s draft coverage around LSU still focused on Chase, who sat the year out.

The Panthers truly may have grabbed an underrated, overshadowed playmaker in Marshall.

Marshall scored ten touchdowns in just seven games last year during a pandemic-shortened 2020 SEC season, putting up 731 yards. He then sat out LSU’s final three games against Alabama, Florida and Ole Miss, after committing to the draft.

But remember, there were no cupcake games last year given the pandemic constraints. All 10 of Marshall’s scores all came against SEC defenses.

The year before, in 2019, Marshall caught 13 touchdown passes while playing third fiddle under Jefferson and Chase. That means he scored 23 times in 19 games over his final two seasons at LSU.

While Marshall has all the tools to succeed in the NFL, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein did mention some potential drawbacks in his game:

Big, fast and talented, Marshall has the ingredients to become a solid starter in the league but has some questions to answer. With the departure of Justin Jefferson and with Ja’Marr Chase opting out, more targets and more shaded coverage ended up coming his way until he opted out at the end of November.

He looks much more comfortable outside than he does in the slot, and he’s a more reliable ball-catcher when he’s working the second and third levels. He’s a natural ball-tracker with a second gear and the catch radius to go get it, and his size gives him an advantage on 50-50 balls.

For all of his talent, Marshall seemed disinterested at times in 2020 and wasn’t always committed to finishing his routes or running them with consistent intensity. There are traits and talent at his disposal, but the difference between becoming a WR2 and a WR3/4 could be determined by how hard he’s willing to work at his craft.

What kind of production do you think we’ll see from Marshall this year, Panthers fans?