Cat Scratch Reader
With 10 days left until the Carolina Panthers open their 2025 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it’s time to look at somebody who could wear the number 10 jersey this season, newly claimed wide receiver Dalevon Campbell.
There are a lot of fun names that harken back to specific eras of Panthers football who wore the number 10 jersey. There were punters like Todd Sauerbrun and Johnny Hekker. There were wide receivers like Curtis Samuel and Corey “Hollywood” Brown. There was the tragically misunderstood project that was Armanti Edwards.
Sauerbrun and Samuel each wore the jersey for four seasons. Edwards switched to the number 14 jersey his second year. Nobody made a huge a mark with this number.
Campbell wore the number 38 jersey with the Los Angeles Chargers during the preseason and numbers 5, 8, 15, and 19 at his various college stops at Nevada, Illinois, and the University of South Carolina.
As we noted yesterday, Campbell is the physical model of what Dave Canales looks for in a wide receiver. He is 6’4″, 220 lbs, and runs a 4.42 forty yard dash. He led the Chargers in the preseason with eight receptions for 147 yards.
Canales said yesterday that the Panthers see Campbell as primarily a gunner on special teams intended to improve their coverage units on punts and kickoffs. His high upside as a wide receiver is a secondary benefit.
His special teams utility also explains why he was claimed over re-signing Hunter Renfrow. The ability to do more than one thing on the field is apparently valued over whatever veteran leadership the team thought Renfrow could provide in Adam Thielen’s absence.
