Devin Funchess aka the enigma

[Car123]

Last year we had no wr depth. Literally no wr was in Carolina the year before so KB didn't have to earn his spot.

[Car123]

I just can't stand the thought of a WR making a big play and then spinning the ball,  ugh so not the mark of a great WR

No Fun League. Let the player express themselves.

[PanthersBigD]

Funchess had a great first game for a second round rookie. 

[Snake]

Kelvin pretty much admitted that he only had that 1,000 yard rookie season because of his size and physicality. Devin is big too but he's not as physical so he won't have the same advantages as Benjamin.

Funchess is gonna be fine.

Well Funchess was playing the slot last night and you need to be more quick than physical in that role. I think with Ginn and Brown in the mix they are going to use him as slot/TE hybrid to slice up man plays.  

[jdpanther5]

Comparing Kelvin to Devin isn't really fair to Funchess. KB was a polished, 23-year-old rookie coming from a pro-style system with an eventual number one pick throwing him the ball. Funchess, on the other hand, didn't even turn 21 until after he was drafted, didn't have a specific position in college, and had a receiver throwing him the ball. 

I don't doubt that Devin COULD EVENTUALLY be better, but to expect a Benjamin-like rookie year is unfair. 

[teeray]

Fans put more stock into preseason games than coaches do.  90% of evaluating will go on in practice

[Razeyfingers]

wow 6 pages huh, how about the fact that he played linebacker and not receiver for the majority of his football career. The fact that he's not remotely close to as polished as LaFell or KB shouldve told you something. He obviously has learning to do, but obviously looks like a stud.

He went for 52 in his first game, lol, wake up

[KB_fan]

PFF has a weird article posted about Funchess today.  No real comment or grade for his performance yesterday.  Still trying to stir up controversy about his role and whether he's a TE or WR.

"just another tall receiver"

Seems like a slam to me.  Show'em Funch.  Prove them stupid!

 

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/08/15/so-devin-funchess-is-a-wr-after-all/

excerpt:

So, Devin Funchess is a WR after all

Devin Funchess was a difficult draft prospect to evaluate this past spring, because it was unclear whether his pro projection was as a wide receiver.

Given his size and speed — 6-4, over 230 pounds, and a 40-yard dash time in the 4.7s — there was a section of analysts that saw him as a tight end.

I didn’t see him as a tight end (thanks largely to blocking that would make Jimmy Graham look like Jim Kleinsasser), but more as a Marques Colston-type player – a big slot receiver – who needed to be put in the right position to succeed by the offense.

[...]

The Panthers, at least judging by last night however, see Funchess as just another tall receiver they can target. Funchess had two receptions for 53 yards, with both coming aligned split wide as either the X or Z receiver. The first one was a dig route and the second a nice sideline grab down field against Bills rookie Ronald Darby.

Just maybe Funchess isn’t a tight end, and isn’t a Colston-style big slot receiver. Maybe he’s just a tall wideout who runs a 4.7.

[Diehardpanther02]

You know i was thinking the same thing.  But after seeing the position he was put in after the ones came out it became a little more clear.  They ran devin as the ONE with the twos if that makes sense.  He was being used as the primary WR in the second group.  They were moving him around alot from out wide to in the slot.  This seems as if they are trying to make him familiar with route tree of each recieving position be it in the slot or out wide.  Thats just my two cents.

[Jackofalltrades]

I liked what I saw, it's his first live game in the NFL and he made some mistakes. What I like even more is that he recognized, admitted and vowed to improve on it.

 

He kept a short memory and had a couple of very nice catches too. People are going to be disappointed if they expect him to be KB 2.0, he's a different kind of receiver with much less experience at that position. KB had a real QB in college, real coaches and played in some monster games with a lot of pressure, Funchess missed out on all of that.

 

Patience.