May 3, 2026

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker was an early offseason sleeper candidate after his budding chemistry with Bryce Young was put on display down the stretch of the 2025 season and in the Panthers' Wild Card loss to the Rams, in which he recorded a career-high 134 receiving yards and a touchdown. Coker began the season on injured reserve as the result of a strained quad, and he started slowly after missing six games. Over his final six games of the season, however, including the playoffs, Coker averaged 63 receiving yards per contest and scored four touchdowns, tied for the seventh-most by any receiver in that stretch. The Panthers have since added John Metchie III in free agency and spent a third-round pick on Chris Brazzell II in the NFL Draft. While neither projects as an insurmountable barrier to targets, they've added enough uncertainty to the receiver room to push Coker down to RotoBaller's WR49, making him even more of a bargain in the late rounds of drafts. Managers who were in on Coker when everybody could see the path should be even more in at his current cost. He projects to be the primary slot receiver in an offense whose weak tight end room led to the seventh-highest rate of 11 personnel in the league in 2025, and at 6'3" and 213 pounds, he's got the size to kick outside in two-receiver sets alongside 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan. Coker has been an easy player to root for since the Panthers picked him up as an undrafted free agent out of Holy Cross in 2024, and 2026 is lining up cleanly for a potential breakout season.--Patrick McGrath