The Carolina Panthers needed to get quarterback Cam Newton some wide receivers in this draft. The front office got him one almost as big as he is in the first round.
The Panthers selected Florida State's Kelvin Benjamin (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) with the No. 28 pick and started to fill their biggest position of need. His selection should please Newton (6-5, 245) -- even though Benjamin caught the winning TD pass in the BCS championship game against Auburn, Newton's alma mater.
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NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin was effusive in his praise of Benjamin, whom he called an "area-code receiver" -- as in you throw it up in Benjamin's area code, and he is big enough to go get it.
"He reminds me a lot of Brandon Marshall," Irvin said. "He could be one of the biggest steals in the draft."
Mayock praised Benjamin's "catching radius" and noted that he was occasionally used in the slot by Florida State. Imagine a 6-5, 240-pound slot receiver -- we're sure NFC South defensive coordinators already are thinking about that.
But Benjamin has some issues. He lacked consistency and focus for much of his career at Florida State before becoming a big weapon in the second half of the 2013 season. He is a matchup nightmare because of his size and has embraced a "Baby Megatron" moniker. Whether he can become a legitimate go-to receiver is a question, but his red-zone potential is a big selling point.
Mayock also referred to some recent early-round wide receivers who, like Benjamin, produced solid numbers just one season in college and were dubbed "one-year wonders," such as Stephen Hill and Anthony Gonzalez.
But fret not, Panthers fans.
"I think this Benjamin kid is different," Mayock said, citing his size.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
