CHARLOTTE — This is beginning to be a thing.
Second-year wideout Jalen Coker had a pair of big plays in practice Monday, continuing the progress that included a touchdown Friday night against the Browns.
Monday, he hauled in a pair of deep touchdowns, one from Bryce Young, who had to leave the pocket and hit him on the move.
The more athletic one was from Andy Dalton, when he went up over the top of rookie cornerback JaTravis Broughton, giving him the "you got Mossed" treatment before continuing to the end zone.
It continued a run of solid play for a guy who was in and out during the offseason work. But head coach Dave Canales has praised him for his work since then, both to improve his physical condition and to take his special teams roles more seriously.
But Coker could always catch, as he showed last year, when he caught 32 passes for 478 yards and two touchdowns.
"Jalen has really shown to be one of the more reliable guys that we have," Canales said. "Whether it's contested or he's open in space, he plays strong to the ball. He had two really amazing plays, on a go ball where he went up over JT Broughton and kind of took it off of his shoulder and finished the play, finished on his feet, and ran the ball into the end zone.
"And if he keeps showing us like that, he's going to be on the field playing, there's, there's no doubt about it. We love all of our guys. I have high hopes for this group in general, but that's the nature of competition, and that's what it does: all of a sudden, you see people elevate and rise and really show who they are."
Check out photos from the Panthers practice on Monday.
