The veteran cornerback has never seen such a compilation of speed amassed at one position on a roster in any of his 10 NFL training camps.
"Oh man Authentic Jeremy Kerley Jersey , we got some fast receivers," Munnerlyn said. "I was like, 'Wow, almost everyone runs a 4.4 or lower. That's crazy.' We have some speed on this team 鈥?and we probably needed it."
That's an understatement.
The Panthers offense stagnated last season as quarterback Cam Newton found himself with no deep threats after Ted Ginn Jr. left to sign with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent and youngsters Curtis Samuel and Damierre Byrd went down with injuries.
The trickledown effect of not having anyone to stretch the field, combined with three-time 1,000 yard receiving tight end Greg Olsen missing most of the season with a foot injury made Newton's job last season extremely difficult. It also played havoc with the team's running game as opposing defenses were able to walk an extra defender into the box. Carolina still finished 11-5 and earned a wild card despite finishing 19th in offense but lacked the firepower to make a run in the NFC playoffs.
General manager Marty Hurney wasn't about to let that happen again.
The Panthers upgraded their speed at wide receiver by trading for Torrey Smith, signing free agent Jarius Wright and selecting the elusive D.J. Moore from Maryland in the first round of the NFL draft.
Smith has averaged 16.4 yards per catch during his seven NFL seasons with the Ravens, 49ers and, most recently, the Super Bowl champion Eagles. Wright joins the Panthers after six seasons with the Vikings, where he worked under new Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner and averaged 13.3 yards per catch. Moore caught 80 passes last season at Maryland and earned a reputation as a receiver who makes defenders miss and piles up yards after the catch.
With Samuel and Byrd coming back from injuries, Newton should have no shortage of options when it comes to stretching the field.
"I think we would probably have the fastest track team in the NFL for sure," Wright said. "We got a 1A and a 1B team. That's how fast our receiving corps is."
Coach Ron Rivera is quietly optimistic.
He said the Panthers "have some speed that we haven't had in a while" at the wide receiver and defensive back positions.
"I think that is a good thing for us," Rivera said. "We can be a fast team."
All of that is good news for Newton Robbie Grossman Minnesota Twins Jersey , who was limited to 22 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions in 2017 鈥?two years after throwing 35 TD passes and 10 interceptions while earning league MVP honors and leading the Panthers to the Super Bowl.
The logical thinking is if defenses have to honor the deep threat it will allow Olsen and No. 1 receiver Devin Funchess to work underneath the coverage 鈥?and also free up rushing lanes for running back Christian McCaffrey and Newton, the team's leading rusher last season.
Funchess may not be the fastest wide receiver on the roster, but he figures to play a huge role in the passing game.
He moved over to the "X'' position, or No. 1 receiver spot, during the middle of last season after the Panthers abruptly traded former No. 1 draft pick Kelvin Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills.
Funchess and Benjamin were considered similar possession-type receivers, and Hurney said at the time he wanted to get more speed on the field.
Funchess responded with some solid games in Benjamin's absence, and finished the season with 63 receptions for 840 yards and eight touchdowns despite routinely seeing double coverage. He'll have plenty of motivation to improve on that production given that he'll become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
"I focus on strictly football and that part has nothing to do with me," Funchess said. "If (the Panthers) want to (get a deal done), they can. ... I'm out here to play football, work with coach Turner, work with the rest of the wide receivers, and talk a little trash to (Panthers linebacker) Thomas Davis."
Wright likes what he sees so far from the wideouts.
"I think we have one of the best groups in the NFL," Wright said. "We have so many guys that bring a lot of different things to the game. But every guy can run out there. With so many playmakers, an experienced offensive coordinator and an MVP quarterback like Cam Newton our offense should be rolling."
Jalen Ramsey spent the past few months working out at his father's training facility in Nashville.It was a new routine that caused him to miss Jacksonville's offseason conditioning program.
The All-Pro cornerback has no regrets Patriots Trent Brown Jersey , though, about the time away from coaches and teammates.
"How do I put this the nicest way possible?" Ramsey said Tuesday after the first of a mandatory, three-day minicamp.
"I don't think any of my teammates had an issue because they know I was going to come back ready. But at the same time, if they did, I don't think I would care 'cause once I get out here I know what I was doing was the right thing for me."
Ramsey worked out in Jacksonville before his first two NFL seasons and fell behind both times because of injuries.
"It was an offseason of getting back to the basics for me, kind of doing what got me to the position I'm in right now," he said. "It was also an offseason for me that I kind of labeled as 'no-setback season,' just 'cause in the previous two years I haven't even made it this far."
He had surgery in May 2016 for a torn meniscus in his right knee. He had surgery last June for a sports hernia.
Ramsey still managed to become the best player on a stout defense.
The fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft emerged as one of the top defensive backs in the league last year, locking down No. 1 receivers on a weekly basis. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in his second season and made the more exclusive All-Pro team.
"I thought I was good in the past two years, and stay tuned," he said.
Ramsey already has matchups circled months before the season, beginning with Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants in the opener and continuing a few weeks later against Kansas City's Tyreke Hill. The list also includes familiar faces such as former teammate Allen Hurns, Houston's DeAndre Hopkins, Philadelphia's Alshon Jeffery P.J. Hall Jersey , Indianapolis' T.Y. Hilton and Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown.
"It's what I love, but I can't just love it," Ramsey said. "I've got to prepare for it, too, so that's what I've been doing this whole offseason. That's what I'll continue to do."
The Jaguars welcomed Ramsey back for minicamp, but coach Doug Marrone planned to work him in slowly.
"Jalen has worked extremely hard with training with his dad. He's anxious to go out there and say, 'I'm ready to go. Let's go,'" Marrone said. "I'm more like, 'OK, listen, we're going to get you in there for a couple and take you out. We just want to see where you are.
"The worst thing you can do as a coach is put someone out there that maybe is not ready. Not to say that Jalen is not ready, but we want to make sure that we are doing the right thing for all of the players."
Ramsey had 107 tackles, 31 pass breakups and six interceptions in his first two seasons. He's earned the respect of opponents as well as teammates, which made his decision to skip Jacksonville's offseason program an easier one.
"I know what I was doing is going to get me prepared as best as anything for the season Redskins Pernell McPhee Jersey ," he said. "Once I put that out on the field, there won't be any issues. I have a good relationship with all my teammates anyways, so if they did they would hit me up. I did it respectful. ... I hit up people. I was like, 'Hey, yo, look, this is my plan for the offseason.'
"And it's not that I felt like I owed anybody an explanation. It's just that's how we vibe. That's the locker room. ... I was like, 'Yo, I know y'all fixin' to start it up. I'm not coming. I'm doing my thing. No worries.' They said it right back: 'You good, bro.'"
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