Curtis Samuel, Wide Receiver

Second-year wide receiver Curtis Samuel only caught two passes for 37 yards on Sunday, but one of those was a 25-yard catch and run that put the Panthers on the board in the opening quarter. The TD was the first of the injury-plagued wideout’s career, and he broke several tackles and got a great block from Cam Newton on the play:

Having Samuel back is huge for the Panthers, as he gives an already dangerous offense another valuable weapon. Even if his numbers aren’t eye-popping — they certainly weren’t on Sunday — his mere presence causes the defense to have to account for another potential gamebreaker.

Opposing defenses already have to deal with Newton, Christian McCaffrey and Devin Funchess, so if young pass catchers like Samuel, DJ Moore and Ian Thomas begin to assert themselves more, things could get downright scary for the Panthers’ future opponents. Samuel wasn’t active for the first three games of the season, but figures to be a huge part of the offense moving forward.

Quite simply, Carolina hopes Sunday’s score was the first of many for their talented young receiver.

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