Panthers roster: Terrace Marshall Jr. a perfect fit as a rookie

The Carolina Panthers roster is taking on some more significant change ahead of the 2021 season. Notably, the Panthers moved on from offensive weapon Curtis Samuel in 2021 free agency.

In hindsight, it’s clear that the Panthers were seeking something substantially different stylistically from their WR3 position behind DJ Moore and Robby Anderson because they replaced a gadget-like player in Samuel with a pretty traditional “X” type of receiver in Terrace Marshall Jr.

Marshall played under Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady when Brady was at LSU as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach, so that gives the rookie a pretty nice edge early on.

Marshall is also very well-built and was one of the most impressive athletes at the wide receiver position in the entire 2021 NFL Draft class.

Terrace Marshall adds dynamic presence to Panthers roster

Over the last two seasons at LSU, Marshall caught 94 total passes and 23 of those ended up as touchdowns.

This guy is a big play waiting to happen and he has a nose for scoring the ball as he scored on one out of every four catches he had in the last couple of seasons on average.

With sub-4.4 speed (at least that’s what he timed at the LSU pro day), Marshall has the long speed to really separate from defensive backs on vertical routes.

What he also does really well is expand the “strike zone” for his quarterback with a huge catch radius. Not only does Marshall give you elite leaping ability but he also has great length and wingspan.

Along with Robby Anderson and DJ Moore, Marshall gives the Carolina Panthers a threat both in the vertical passing game and after the catch. Carolina’s passing game weapons were some of the best in the league last year at consistently creating after the catch, which will be a huge help for new quarterback Sam Darnold.

Darnold is still going to have to make huge strides in his game to prove himself worthy of being a long-term option for the Panthers after — let’s face it — failing with the New York Jets.

He’s got a nice set of weapons to work with on this Panthers roster even without Curtis Samuel, and the addition of Terrace Marshall Jr. who already has experience working with Joe Brady should really expedite his development and ability to get involved in the offense.