Jonathan Mingo breaks down how he fits into competition in Panthers WR room

Second-round NFL Draft picks are usually safe through their first season, but that’s not necessarily always the case. And second-round Carolina Panthers draft pick Jonathan Mingo knows there are a lot of quality receivers in front of him.

He’ll have to put together a strong camp to earn his spot on the roster and push for playing time.

“I’m just trying to go out there and make plays,” Jonathan Mingo said. “It’s a big room, we’re all competing to try to get on the field. You’ve got (Terrace) Marshall, you’ve got DJ Chark, you’ve got Laviska (Shenault), Adam (Thielen), a lot of good vets around me so I’m trying to pick their brains.”

The four receivers Mingo mentioned have combined for more than 11,000 career receiving yards. Two of those players have produced a 1,000-yard season in the NFL, with Chark doing it once and Thielen having done it twice now. These are some players who know how to put up numbers.

And they’ll all have the luxury of No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Bryce Young throwing to them. Mingo is trying to soak it all in and get up to speed as quickly as possible.

“Trying to get advice from them on what’s their process and what little things they do to help them stay in the league,” Mingo said. “I’m trying to pick their brains every day to compete against them, so it’s a big battle because you can’t just play with one receiver. You’ve got to have five or six good receivers on the team, so we’re all competing against each other trying to get on the field.”

Mingo is certainly capable of emerging as one of the top targets on the team this fall.

While at Ole Miss, Mingo recorded 112 catches for 1,758 yards and 12 touchdowns, stretching that production across four seasons from 2019-22. As a senior, he set an Ole Miss record for most receiving yards in a game with 247, accomplishing that feat against Vanderbilt.

The first chance for fans to get a look at Mingo in a Panthers jersey will be on Aug. 12 when Carolina takes on the New York Jets at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. ET kick.