There was a pretty fair question going into Sunday's game in Philadelphia. What was Jalen Coker's return going to do to Tetairoa McMillan?
McMillan had been putting up some big numbers while Coker was out, including that ridiculous 14-catch, 192-yard game against Detroit. But Coker had been really good when healthy, too. I figured somebody was probably going to lose a few targets once they were finally back on the field together.
Maybe I was worried about the wrong thing.
Coker caught six passes for 97 yards against the Eagles, while McMillan caught six for 86. That's 183 yards between them, and neither one had to disappear for the other to have a good game.
Jalen Coker Came Back and Tetairoa McMillan Still Got His
This was the part I was most interested in Sunday. McMillan had become such a big part of the offense while Coker was out, and I didn't want to see Carolina suddenly start taking opportunities away from him just because Coker was back.
That really wasn't an issue. Coker got 13 targets and McMillan got nine, and they were basically on the field the same amount. McMillan played 60 offensive snaps and Coker played 59.
Coker also made one of the biggest catches of the afternoon. Carolina was backed up at its own 10 on third-and-8 when Young found him for 32 yards. Instead of another punt and giving Philadelphia good field position, the Panthers got moving and eventually finished the drive with a Chuba Hubbard touchdown.
McMillan kept getting his chances, too. He caught six passes for 86 yards and has now had at least five catches and 75 yards in four of five games.
That's where having Coker back can actually help McMillan instead of hurting him. Defenses can't spend the whole afternoon worrying about No. 4 when there's another guy on the other side who can go for close to 100 yards.
It's been a while since Carolina has had that.
We've Seen Them Do This Before
The Philadelphia game wasn't some completely new development, either. Coker and McMillan both went over 75 yards against Chicago in Week 1, and now they've done it again.
They've only played three games together this season, and they've both gone over 75 in two of them. I'm not ready to say that's going to happen every week, because obviously it isn't, but it's enough to make me think Sunday wasn't some fluke.
And 13 targets for Coker caught my attention. That's a lot for anybody, much less a receiver playing his first game back from an injury. Young clearly wasn't shy about going right back to him.
McMillan still got nine targets of his own, so I'm not sure why we need to be in a hurry to decide which one is Carolina's No. 1 receiver. Maybe that answer becomes obvious as the season goes along, but right now it doesn't really matter.
If they're both getting open, keep throwing it to them.
What Do We Do With Them in Fantasy?
This is where it gets a little tougher because fantasy owners don't care about everybody being happy. We need to know who we're putting in the lineup.
If you're making me pick one, I'm still taking McMillan. He's been more consistent, and four games with at least 75 yards in five games is enough for me to feel pretty good about putting him out there every week.
But I'm not sitting Coker just because McMillan is playing. Thirteen targets are hard to ignore, especially in his first game back. Coker turned those into six catches for 97 yards, and this was already his second game this season with more than 90 receiving yards.
There are going to be Sundays when one of them gets more work. Maybe McMillan gets 12 targets, and Coker gets seven. Maybe the next week it's the other way around. With two receivers this involved, you're never going to get a perfect 50-50 split.
What Sunday showed me is that I don't think we need one of them to disappear for the other to have a good fantasy day. We've already watched both of them go over 75 yards in the same game twice this season.
That's good for fantasy, but I'm more interested in what it means for Carolina. Young finally has two receivers he looks comfortable throwing to, and if a defense decides it's not going to let McMillan beat it all afternoon, the Panthers have another guy who can make them pay for it.
As for my fantasy lineup, McMillan is staying in it. And if Coker is on my roster, I'm finding a spot for him, too.
Add us as a preferred source on Google