I just read that article over on NFL.com
Good stuff, and I am still thrilled that we were able to get Marshall at all. He could well have been a late first rounder on other boards.
Rank
4
Terrace Marshall Jr.
LSU
Carolina Panthers
Draft pick: Round 2, No. 59 overall
On targets of 10-plus air yards last season, Carolina receivers logged just four touchdown catches against 10 interceptions (tied for third-most picks), according to Next Gen Stats. Now, Marshall isn't the only player who figures to improve this aspect of the offense in 2021, as the Panthers have a new quarterback (
Sam Darnold) and a presumably healthy RB1 (
Christian McCaffrey). As a Jet last season, Darnold had just five touchdowns of 10-plus air yards, per NGS, but he logged eleven in both 2018 and '19. As a big-bodied pass catcher at LSU, Marshall had seven touchdowns on deep targets over the past two seasons (tied for third-most in the SEC) and 20 catches in traffic over that same time period (PFF). Matt Rhule and Joe Brady -- the latter of whom knows Marshall well from their time together at LSU -- can create space and scheme up some deep opportunities for their second-round pick. Marshall will at least fill a volume void left by the departure of
Curtis Samuel. With
D.J. Moore,
Robby Anderson and McCaffrey as established NFL playmakers, Carolina figures to stretch opposing defenses horizontally and vertically, providing Darnold with a highly favorable environment in which to operate. This spells upside for Marshall's fantasy value.