Kelvin Benjamin

Kelvin Benjamin (born February 5, 1991) is an American football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Panthers in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.

Early years

Benjamin attended Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, Florida. He was ranked by Rivals.com as the eighth best wide receiver in his class. He was also on the track team as a long jumper.

College career

After being redshirted in 2011, Benjamin played in all 14 games in 2012, recording 30 receptions for 495 yards and four touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2013 he had 54 receptions for 1,011 yards and 15 touchdowns,including the game-winning touchdown against Auburn in the BCS title game with 13 seconds remaining. Sports Illustrated named Benjamin to their All-American first team and he was also selected to the All-ACC Second Team by the coaches and All-ACC Third Team by media. After the season, Benjamin decided to forgo his final two years of eligibility to enter 2014 NFL Draft.

Professional career

2014 NFL Draft

Despite forgoing two years of eligibility, Benjamin was still given a first round grade by the NFL Draft Advisory Board, which is typically conservative with underclassmen draft entrants, and was widely considered one of the top wide receivers in the 2014 NFL Draft. Benjamin's size, speed, physicality, and high-pointing ability drew parallels to players including Alshon Jeffrey and Plaxico Burress. While many scouts were concerned about his hands and a current lack of precise routing at this point, many projected him as a first-round pick due to his potential. Benjamin was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the 28th pick of the first round. NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock praised the Panthers selection of Benjamin after it occurred. "He's 6-foot-5, 240 pounds with 35-inch arms, and you're talking about a catching radius." Mayock then went on to compare Benjamin to other college wide receivers that only had one year of college production. "However, there's one thing about wide receivers with only one year of college production (like Benjamin at FSU) and it's a little sobering when you look at the names on that list: Stephen Hill, Greg Little, Devin Thomas, Anthony Gonzalez," Mayock said.

Carolina Panthers

After losing Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell, Ted Ginn, and Domenik Hixon in the offseason, the Panthers needed wide receiver help, which was probably the main reason why the Panthers chose Benjamin in the draft. After the draft, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman said to reporters that when he watched Benjamin's tape, he thought of a young Plaxico Burress. Burress only had 22 receptions in his rookie season, but many have noted that Benjamin should expect to see a lot more playing time than that with the lack of receivers on the roster. Currently in training camp and the preseason, Benjamin will be competing for the Panthers No. 1 receiver spot with former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery. On June 4, 2014, Benjamin signed a four-year $7.66 million deal. During his debut performance on September 7, 2014 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Benjamin recorded 6 receptions for 92 yards and 1 TD. With his TD reception, Benjamin joined Calvin Johnson, AJ Green, Demaryius Thomas, Percy Harvin, Brandin Cooks, and Mike Williams as the only rookie first round wide receivers to catch a TD reception during their debut performance. Additionally, Benjamin's 92 yards were the seventh-most for a wide receiver in the first game of his rookie season behind Anquan Boldin, Eddie Royal, DeSean Jackson, Julian Edelman, Demaryius Thomas, and Allen Hurns..

External links

• Carolina Panthers bio
• Florida State Seminoles bio