Texas A&M Football: 4 best fits for Christian Kirk in the NFL
By Jeff Shull
2. Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers have criminally wasted some of Cam Newton’s prime by not providing him with enough weapons on the outside. Even when they did find one recently, they traded Kelvin Benjamin away in the middle of the season. They signed Torrey Smith this offseason, but he’s a one-route outside receiver. He’s not scaring defenses as he once did.
Devon Funchess is a solid receiver on the outside, so Kirk could come in and be a lethal slot receiver for Newton. They split 2017 first round pick Christian McCaffery, a running back, out in the slot a lot last season, but drafting Kirk would allow them to keep defenses honest.
The Panthers were 10th in kickoff return yard average but just 19th in punt return average. Kirk had six punt return touchdowns in his career at Texas A&M and averaged 21.4 yards per return on punts. He is an explosive playmaker that defenses will have to account for and can change games with big returns.
Kirk visited the Panthers on one of his official pre-draft visits. Carolina should be in play for him with the 24th overall pick.