Over the last two seasons, the Carolina Panthers have had a clear tell: when Jalen Coker is out there, the offense looks different, and Bryce Young’s production climbs with it.
That connection was on full display in the Wild Card Round against the Los Angeles Rams, when Young and Coker were clicking from the start. But the bigger story is that this isn’t just a hot streak or a nice little pairing. By the numbers, Young and Coker have already become one of the most efficient quarterback-wide receiver duos in the NFL, and one of the best the league has seen in the PFF era.
In 2025, the Young-Coker combination ranked third among all QB-WR pairs with at least 40 targets. They produced 0.72 EPA per play and a 38% positive play percentage, both eye-opening marks for a duo that has not even had the kind of volume most elite pairs get. Young targeted Coker 50 times, and those throws turned into 39 catches, 493 yards and four touchdowns.
Only Dak Prescott to Ryan Flournoy and Jordan Love to Matthew Golden were better in EPA per play.
PFF analyst Mark Chichester put it this way: "Young posted a 14.0% big-time throw rate on passes to Coker, the highest of any qualifying wide receiver duo in 2025, against a single turnover-worthy play. The pair generated a 126.1 passer rating, and their two-year career mark of 0.672 EPA per play already ranks 15th among all duos in the PFF era with 75-plus targets."
That’s the kind of efficiency that changes what an offense can be. When Young looks Coker’s way, the Panthers are getting explosive plays without the mistakes that usually come with aggressive passing. The result has been one of Carolina’s most reliable offensive answers.
Zooming out even further, Coker’s career line is just as striking: 88 targets, 894 yards and six touchdowns, along with that same 0.672 EPA per play. That number puts the duo 15th all-time in the PFF era, which goes back to 2006.
And the list of pairs ahead of them is a strong one, which only sharpens how impressive this start has been for Young and Coker. For the Panthers, the hope is simple: more of this, and for a full season.
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Bryce Young remains the hinge point, though, because the roster upgrades only matter if he can turn them into real progress on the field. If he does, the Panthers have a path to finishing above .500 and putting themselves in the mix in the division again, which would be a meaningful step for a franchise that has been chasing that level for too long. If he does not, all the optimism around the new pieces will sound a lot like the same old Carolina promise. [Read more 🡒]