The first year of the Bryce Young era with the Carolina Panthers did not leave many dynasty fantasy football managers all that optimistic about their fantasy outlook of the Panthers’ offense heading into 2024.
However, should dynasty managers attempt to reconsider the rookie season we saw from WR Jonathan Mingo in 2023?
Did he show dynasty managers enough encouraging signs during his first year in the pros to believe he will develop into a reliable, if not very productive, fantasy asset in the near future?
Jonathan Mingo’s Dynasty Outlook
Mingo was widely regarded as a talented but raw wide receiver prospect coming out of Ole Miss. He was mostly a second-round rookie pick in dynasty drafts last year but fell into a situation where there wasn’t an established alpha target-earning wide receiver.
The #Panthers rookie duo connects early as Bryce Young finds Jonathan Mingo. pic.twitter.com/LkYPKPMGlK
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 18, 2023
Sure, Adam Thielen and DJ Chark were competent veterans with varying levels of success at their previous locations, but neither of them had ever played with Young, and the team added them via free agency at very reasonable prices.
Thielen did end up leading the team in targets (137), receptions (103), and yards (1,014), but it was Mingo who saw the second most targets (85) and receptions (43) on the team.
Mingo even experienced a five-game stretch from Week 10 to Week 14, where he saw a minimum of six targets per game. Unfortunately, the porous state of the Panther’s passing game still saw him post mostly weak stat lines during this span, but his involvement was certainly there.
The Panthers hired Dave Canales as their new head coach, who saw a fair amount of success as the offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.
Canales helped resurrect the career of Baker Mayfield and could certainly have a positive impact on Young, who had plenty of promise coming out of the University of Alabama.
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Another thing working for Mingo is the team gave up first-round draft capital to select Young last NFL Draft, which removes the possibility of the team selecting a top wideout to immediately threaten Mingo’s development and role.
Mingo’s target share could look very similar, if not expanded, depending on what roster moves the team makes to build around Young this offseason.
Mingo’s Dynasty Ranking
Where does Mingo land in the dynasty POS landscape going into the 2024 offseason? Here are Tate’s latest rankings, featuring where Mingo lands in comparison to other top names at the position.
1) Justin Jefferson | MIN
2) CeeDee Lamb | DAL
3) Ja’Marr Chase | CIN
4) Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET
5) A.J. Brown | PHI
6) Garrett Wilson | NYJ
7) Tyreek Hill | MIA
8) Puka Nacua | LAR
9) Chris Olave | NO
10) Rashee Rice | KC
11) Jaylen Waddle | MIA
12) DeVonta Smith | PHI
13) DJ Moore | CHI
14) Zay Flowers | BAL
15) Drake London | ATL
16) Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA
17) Tank Dell | HOU
18) Nico Collins | HOU
19) DK Metcalf | SEA
20) Brandon Aiyuk | SF
21) Deebo Samuel | SF
22) Michael Pittman Jr. | IND
23) Tee Higgins | CIN
24) Jordan Addison | MIN
25) Jayden Reed | GB
26) Amari Cooper | CLE
27) Davante Adams | LV
28) Keenan Allen | LAC
29) Stefon Diggs | BUF
30) Mike Evans | TB
31) Cooper Kupp | LAR
32) George Pickens | PIT
33) Terry McLaurin | WAS
34) Diontae Johnson | PIT
35) Josh Downs | IND
36) Christian Kirk | JAX
37) Calvin Ridley | JAX
38) Chris Godwin | TB
39) Courtland Sutton | DEN
40) Romeo Doubs | GB
41) Jakobi Meyers | LV
42) Treylon Burks | TEN
43) Jahan Dotson | WAS
44) Wan’Dale Robinson | NYG
45) DeMario Douglas | NE
46) Marquise Brown | ARI
47) DeAndre Hopkins | TEN
48) Jerry Jeudy | DEN
49) Mike Williams | LAC
50) Khalil Shakir | BUF
51) Michael Wilson | ARI
52) Jameson Williams | DET
53) Christian Watson | GB
54) Rashod Bateman | BAL
55) Dontayvion Wicks | GB
56) Jalin Hyatt | NYG
57) Rashid Shaheed | NO
58) Gabe Davis | BUF
59) Tyler Lockett | SEA
60) Marvin Mims Jr. | DEN
61) Elijah Moore | CLE
62) Trey Palmer | TB
63) Jonathan Mingo | CAR
64) Quentin Johnston | LAC
65) Brandin Cooks | DAL
66) Curtis Samuel | WAS
67) A.T. Perry | NO
68) Darnell Mooney | CHI
69) Odell Beckham Jr. | BAL
70) Zay Jones | JAX
Should You Trade Mingo in Dynasty?
Are you considering trading Mingo? Our free PFN Trade Analyzer allows you to find the best trade offer to make in seconds!
The real issue lies with Mingo’s lack of production despite a fairly decent target share for a rookie wideout. Mingo had issues separating consistently and getting on the same page with Young, which showcases some of Mingo’s raw prospect profile he had entering the NFL.
Sure, there are encouraging signs and a significant lack of target competition on the roster currently, but that can change in the blink of an eye with a new coaching staff, upcoming free agency, and an NFL Draft to play out.
Ultimately, I’m a bit more intrigued with Mingo’s potential upside than I am with the assets you are likely to get in return for trading Mingo, but he is far from an untouchable player.
Where I would draw the line with trading away Mingo would fall somewhere around an early second-round pick.
Players like Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Ladd McConkey, Keon Coleman, Xavier Legette, and Brian Thomas Jr. all feel like WR prospects who have a similar — or better — prospect profile who you can potentially land around the start of the second round in upcoming rookie drafts that I would rather have than Mingo.
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