The Carolina Panthers found themselves in an ideal position in the 2018 NFL Draft when it was their turn to pick at No. 24. The Panthers wanted a dynamic wide receiver and as luck would have it https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Christian-Miller-Jersey , none of the 23 previous selections played that position. Carolina would be able to pick the player they evaluated to be the top wide receiver in the entire draft. They went with Maryland’s D.J. Moore. Moore then had a slow start to his NFL career. In his first three games he registered just two receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed the ball two times for 10 yards. The Panthers had a Week 4 bye and since that time D.J. Moore has shown why he was the first wide receiver selected in the 2018 draft. Per Pro Football Reference, Between Week 5 and Week 12 Moore has led all rookie wide receivers in receptions (33), yards (482), catch percentage (84.6%), and yards per target (12.4). Rookie WRs Weeks 5-12 (min 10 recs)PlayerTmGamesTgtRecYdsCtch%Y/TgtPlayerTmGamesTgtRecYdsCtch%Y/TgtPro Football ReferencePro Football Focus recently provided some pretty incredible statistics which illustrate just how good Moore was between Week 5 and Week 11 (so this excludes his Week 12 performance against the Seattle Seahawks with eight receptions on nine targets for 91 yards):Just let that sink in for a moment: Between Weeks 5 and 11, D.J. Moore led the NFL in yards after catch per reception Will Grier Jersey , led the NFL in yards after contact per reception, and ranked fourth in forced missed tackles per reception!Now, I’m purposefully going back to Week 5 for these stats because I’m a Panthers homer and would prefer to disregard everything that happened over the first month of the NFL season when discussing D.J. Moore. When looking at the entire season, Moore’s 565 receiving yards ranks second among rookie receivers behind the Atlanta Falcons Calvin Ridley with 625 yards. However, Ridley plays for a pass-happy Falcons team and has been targeted 66 times to just 48 targets for Moore. It’s a volume thing. D.J. Moore averages 11.8 yards per target so if he had Calvin Ridley’s 66 targets he would be sitting at 779 yards on the season and leading all rookies by a country mile. The difference between Ridley and Moore comes down to team offensive style (the Falcons are No. 5 in pass attempts, the Panthers are No. 23) https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Greg-Little-Jersey , not individual productivity. Ultimately, D.J. Moore is looking like a stud. Throw in Curtis Samuel and Christian McCaffrey and the Panthers have a trio of young, explosive playmakers who are only getting better. While the Carolina Panthers 2018 season is caving in on itself and will likely be remembered as a disappointing season of missed opportunities, I’d give the selection of D.J. Moore a giant thumbs up. When David Tepper bought the Panthers just over a year ago, he marveled at having a big new building that only hosted 10 or 12 events a year.His next bid to fill up the schedule comes next week, when he will make his pitch to MLS for an expansion team — the league’s 30th spot.Team president Tom Glick said Tuesday during a press conference on a separate soccer topic (a five-year contract to bring international preseason games to Charlotte) that he was optimistic.“We have a great case Brian Burns Jersey , a very strong case,” Glick said, via Erik Spanberg of the . “We’re looking forward to continuing to tell them the good news about soccer and our preparedness to have a high-performing Major League Soccer club here and we’ll continue to bring that conversation to them. We’re optimistic about the process and we’re confident in our candidacy.”While having a turn-key stadium might be a key, MLS has preferred teams build soccer-specific stadiums rather the curtain off the upper decks of football facilities. That hasn’t stopped Tepper — the richest single owner in the NFL who would maintain that title in MLS — from charging forward.MLS is expected to award its 28th and 29th teams to St. Louis and Sacramento for $200 million entry fees. The price for the 30th, whether it’s Charlotte or another contender, would figure to be higher. Detroit Russell Color Rush Shepard Jersey , Las Vegas, and Phoenix are also bidding.