KC Chiefs Vs Carolina Panthers: Rating the Match-Ups
Wide Receiver
Conley or Benjamin?
Jeremy Maclin won’t suit up on Sunday, so Chris Conley will be the number one wide receiver for Alex Smith and the Chiefs. That spells trouble for me, as we’ve seen how much this team struggles when Maclin isn’t playing.
At 6’5″ and 240 pounds, Benjamin is a big, physical target and could provide mismatch issues for Marcus Peters and whoever else Bob Sutton decides to put on him.
Then again, Maclin has struggled so far this season. Maybe the Chiefs aren’t losing a ton of ground by him missing this week, as they can keep feed the ball to Ware, and get it to Chris Conley and Tyreek Hill when possible.
The Panthers have one of the biggest receivers in the game in Kelvin Benjamin. The Chiefs had a chance to draft Benjamin in 2014, but went with Dee Ford instead. This is the first time that I won’t complain about that.
Benjamin missed all of the 2015 season, but has looked solid so far in his returning season. He has 36 catches for 543 yards and four touchdowns. At 6’5″ and 240 pounds, Benjamin is a big, physical target and could provide mismatch issues for Marcus Peters and whoever else Bob Sutton decides to put on him.
While I’d love to be optimistic in thinking that Conley has a shot to put up his best game of his career, I just can’t give Kansas City the edge in this one.