Is Jonathan Mingo Poised for a Breakout Season?

Last season, fans and analysts alike praised the Carolina Panthers for their second-round draft selection. Ole Miss WR Jonathan Mingo was drafted at 39 overall, and many thought he would quickly develop into Carolina's top receiver.

That praise didn't last long. Fans quickly turned on Mingo after he showed poor route running and separation ability. These things were never a problem for him at Ole Miss. He was slowly phased out of the offense. Some attributed his struggles to the situation around him, as opposed to simply blaming the player.

The Panthers found themselves in trouble regardless. They infamously traded away star WR DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears as part of the Bryce Young trade. Their two starting receivers were DJ Chark, who struggled to stay healthy, and 33-year-old Adam Thielen.

Carolina focused on revamping their WR room this offseason, trading for Diontae Johnson and drafting Xavier Legette. These moves pointed to Mingo receiving a much smaller role in the new offense.

Instead of rolling over and accepting this, however, Mingo has risen to the challenge.

Mingo has impressed coaches, teammates, and fans with his incredible training camp performance thus far. His route running has shown tremendous improvement. His ability to get in and out of his breaks to create separation has been on full display. Simply put, he's getting open all over the field.

New head coach Dave Canales has been so impressed, in fact, that he's named Mingo one of Carolina's starting receivers. He's even ahead of rookie phenom Xavier Legette on the team's first unofficial depth chart.

What is behind this resurgence? The second-year WR has been putting in work with Panthers legend Steve Smith in the offseason, and the results are showing. Smith has enjoyed tutoring Mingo, even going as far to compare the two to the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin. On a recent appearance on WFNZ, a Charlotte radio station, Smith had this to say:

"Me and Jonathan put some work in this offseason. He was getting some work in with me at 7 o’clock in the morning outside at the end of the week after he was already working. We were doing a lot of work together…This is Steve Smith and Jonathan Mingo are joined at the hip. He calls me, I call him when I see something, or he has a question. There’s an open line of communication. It’s Batman and Robin talking about how we can corral the Joker, which is the corners he’s taking on this year."

Steve Smith has always been a tremendous asset for the Panthers, even beyond his playing years. The soon-to-be Hall of Famer is at practice nearly every day, giving tips to receivers and encouragement to the offense.

What he's doing is clearly working, and Mingo is the prime example.

After a rookie year that saw Mingo post only 43 receptions for 418 yards and no touchdowns, many lost confidence in him. Mingo never lost confidence in himself, however.

Back in June, during an interview with The Athletic's Joe Person, Mingo had this to say about himself:

"People don’t know game. They’re on the outside looking in. Just like we can see a defense and know what coverage they’re in. I know I can run routes. You’re not going to win all of ’em, but I’m damn sure gonna win the majority of ’em."

That confidence, coupled with tutoring from a local legend, should help Mingo turn the corner in 2024. A breakout year for Mingo couldn't come fast enough for an offense that desperately needs to rebound from last season.

Adam Thielen is getting older, and entering the final year of his contract. Diontae Johnson is also on the final year of his contract, and may look for a bigger deal elsewhere if he has a solid season. Xavier Legette is a rookie with injury history. What does all this add up to?

It means that now is the time for Mingo to prove that Carolina made the right choice in choosing him.

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