Fantasy football sleepers: Panthers WR Jonathan Mingo

Carolina Panthers rookie WR Jonathan Mingo spent four years with Ole Miss, steadily increasing his production every year until culminating in a career-high 51 receptions, 861 receiving yards, and five touchdowns in 2022. Standing at 6’2”, he’s 220 pounds of speed, running the 40-yard dash in 4.46.

Mingo didn’t see a ton of action in preseason, making one catch in each of the two games he played in, totaling 15 yards in the Panthers’ 19-21 loss to the Giants, followed by a 14-yard catch in their loss to the Lions.

2023 Fantasy Football sleepers

Jonathan Mingo, WR, Carolina Panthers

There’s been a certain amount of hype around Mingo coming into the league this year after his banner season in 2022 with Ole Miss. He’ll bring a lot to the Carolina offense while he fights for targets with Adam Thielen, DJ Chark, and Hayden Hurst. Thielen didn’t have the best performance last season, while Chark had a down year with the Lions in 2022 as well. On top of that, Chark is still dealing with a hamstring injury head of Week 1, opening the door a little wider for Mingo to see more targets and time on the field.

Mingo’s ADP is around 182, which seems fairly low for someone of his size and speed that should cause problems for defenses around the league. If he can carve out a spot for himself on the Panthers offense in the first half of the season, expect Mingo to end up as a top-50 receiver by the time his rookie season comes to an end.