The Panthers selected DJ Moore in the first round of the 2018 NFL

The Panthers selected DJ Moore in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and their fan base immediately lost its mind. They are finally supporting Cam Newton. He is the next Steve Smith. It has been so long since they drafted a No. 1 receiver. Smitty said on the TV that he has a Ph.D. in route running. We all Michael Palardy Jersey , apparently, forgot that most receivers don’t have a huge impact their rookie season. Let’s not compare Moore to the likes of Kelvin Benjamin until the rookie has proven himself to be that unreliable.2018 has been a slow start for Moore. He made a lot of noise during training camp but was hardly anywhere to be seen in the preseason and didn’t record a catch until Week 2 of the regular season. That catch being a 51-yard, highlight reel reception for a touchdown was nice, but it was still only one catch in two weeks. Either Moore isn’t ready to see the field with any frequency or the coaching staff is upholding the long standing Panthers’ tradition of mismanaging talent.Either way, the Panthers have made all of the appropriate noises this week about getting Moore involved in a heavier role. Here are the opinions of the Cat Scratch Reader staff of what that role will end up looking like, statistically, by the end of the season.Brian BeversluisDaniel BeltonJon DeLongEvan LeekleyErik SommersEverybody seems agreed that getting the rookie more involved isn’t going to mean taking over for Devin Funchess as Cam Newton’s No. 1 receiver. You know what? Let’s be honest. They don’t think he is going to take over for Christian McCaffrey as Newton’s top receiver.I think averaging about three receptions per game is a perfectly optimistic expectation for Moore’s season. It’s also telling that nobody saw fit to mention his impact as a runner. The Panthers want to get the ball to Moore in space. We’ll see how successful they are in making that space behind the line of scrimmage. Kickers and punters normally fly below the radar, so let’s hit pause and spotlight the many contributions kicker Graham Gano and punter Michael Palardy have made in helping the Panthers jump out to a 5-2 record. In my professional assessment Authentic Cam Newton Jersey , these guys are kicking butt. Graham Gano’s rehabilitation tourLet’s face it, most of us around here were pretty ticked last year when the Panthers chose to keep riding with Graham Gano over Harrison Butker. Butker was drafted in the seventh round in 2017 and had a solid preseason, but Carolina decided to put him on the practice squad where he was predictably poached away by another team, the Kansas City Chiefs. While it was difficult to watch Butker take his youthful potential and rookie-scale contract to Kansas City last year, Gano (then age 30 with a $4.0 million cap hit) responded in 2017 by connecting on a league-leading 96.7% (29 of 30) of his kicks and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He’s been even hotter in 2018 by going 11-for-11 through Week 8. That’s right, Graham Gano has made 40 of his last 41 regular season field goal attempts. He’s also a machine at drilling kickoffs out of the back of the end zone and preventing returns. All things considered, Graham Gano has arguably been the NFL’s best kicker over the last season and a half. (Side note: He’s somehow missed two extra points in 2018, so there’s still some room for improvement.)Gano has not only been consistent Youth Luke Kuechly Jersey , he’s been clutch as well. His miraculous 63-yard game winning field goal against the New York Giants could end up being a season-saver for the Panthers. The incredible kick tied for the longest game-winner in NFL history and fell just one yard shy of the NFL record of 64 yards. Michael Palardy’s house partyBut Graham Gano isn’t the only Panthers kicker who’s hot right now. Punter Michael Palardy is having a great season as well. According to Pro Football Focus, Palardy was the NFL’s top rated punter heading into Week 8’s game against the Ravens. Palardy then had a great game against Baltimore. Of his three punts in Week 8, one was downed at the one yard line (with a huge assist from Curtis Samuel) and another went out of bounds at the eight yard line. With data taken from NFL.com, 53.6% of Palardy’s punts have landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line which is the second highest percentage in the NFL, trailing only Cincinnati’s Kevin Huber at 54.5%. Palardy’s accuracy and touch have consistently caused opposing offenses to start with terrible field position and allowed the Panthers defense to pin back their ears and go on the attack. This week Pro Football Focus released their Midseason All-Pro team and Michael Palardy is their first team All-Pro punter. Here is what PFF had to say:Kickers and punters are normally afterthoughts unless they shank a kick or otherwise fail to do their one specialized job. Graham Gano and Michael Palardy are the exceptions this year. Their consistently excellent play has been an integral part in keeping the Panthers in the playoff hunt. Let’s just hope they can stay this hot for the rest of the season and throughout a deep playoff run.