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carolina panthers blog article. :)

Former Panthers second-round pick Keary Colbert had a solid rookie season in 2004, starting 15 games, hauling in 47 passes for 754 yards, and registering five touchdowns. And at 6-1, he was a big target opposite Steve Smith.

One problem, Colbert could've been 8-1; his knack for dropping passes mitigated any height advantage. Which is why Carolina was happy to let him walk, and why it's confusing as hell that the Broncos would sign him.

Granted, the deal wasn't a cap buster ($7.2 million over three years, including a $2.5 million signing bonus), but have we gotten to the point where below-average receivers are hauling in $2.4 million a season?

In the three years since Colbert's rookie effort, he's started 27 games, caught 62 passes, and a whopping two touchdowns. Last season, he averaged 10.4 yards per reception, or translated to stats geek terms, he ranked dead last in total value for wide receivers with at least 50 passes thrown to them. That's right, out of 87 players, Colbert ranked 87th. Welcome to Denver! On the upside, he had a catch percentage of 46%, which ranked 85th. (Thanks Darrell Jackson and Drew Bennett.) So there's that.

(I know, I know, David Carr has set quarterbacking back 50 years, but Colbert wasn't exactly tearing it up in 2005-2006.)