The Panthers wide receiver makes sense as an easy trade target for the Chiefs

The Carolina Panthers actually won a game on Sunday.

Get this: Not only did the Panthers win a rare game — only their second of the season — but they did so with a solid offensive performance. What's even more amazing is that this is happening after the Diontae Johnson trade And without injured wide receiver Adam Thielen. The icing on the cake: They had Bryce Young back under center after benching him for Andy Dalton earlier in the year.

With these forces in place, one would think that the young offense would also include a young wideout named Jonathan Mingo for the Panthers. Because without Thielen or Johnson, the passing attack needed someone to step up, and as a second-year wideout, it's the ideal time for Mingo to take advantage of that opportunity.

Unfortunately, such hopes are unfounded. Mingo is in such a bind with the Panthers that even if the team's top wide receivers aren't added this year, he still can't find a way into the team's game plan.

If you're wondering if the Panthers are willing to trade Mingo away, just look at his usage. He's a healthy 23-year-old wide receiver who was a top-40 draft pick in a crowded wide receiver class a year ago. Instead of using him, however, the Panthers have benched him in recent weeks in a not-so-clear attempt to prove something to someone — we're just not sure what that is.

On Sunday, the Panthers defeated the New Orleans Saints in a close 23-22 matchup in which Mingo scored and failed to catch it. He had scored just four times and caught just one pass in his last three games, meaning he had exactly one catch for one yard in his final month in the NFL.

It wasn't long ago that the Panthers' front office decided to invest the No. 39 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Mingo. While Dan Morgan wasn't the general manager at the time, he was the assistant GM, so it seems strange that the team was so quick to jump on someone when those still in the building were the ones who made the investment – or at least some of them from them.

Given the apparent lack of playing time or even interest in using him in any capacity, Mingo appears to be an easy access for any outside team still in the market for a wide receiver. And according to Dianna Russini, NFL insider at The Athletic, that describes the Kansas City Chiefs these days.

According to Russini, the Chiefs are hungry for another wideout even after trading for DeAndre Hopkins, and that's because of the number of injuries at the position. Skyy Moore was the latest player out for several weeks, following JuJu Smith-Schuster's hamstring injury and season-ending injuries to Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice. The addition of Hopkins helps, but another healthy player would ease the burden on the stretch run.

Enter Mingo, who would be a low-risk flyer for a potentially high-profile player. Mingo had 43 catches for 418 yards, so he has at least proven to be more productive than Moore. He entered the league with an enticing mix of size and athleticism, but he has yet to put it all together in the pros. On the other hand, we're talking about the Panthers' offense – the kind of dumpster fire that costs people their jobs.

With Kansas City, Mingo could serve as an ideal backup for Smith-Schuster's current role and the eventual suspension of Rashee Rice. He's also around for a few more years as a cost-controlled asset that could give the Chiefs an intriguing new young player to mold for the future. And again, if it doesn't work out, it's hard to believe the Chiefs would have donated much of anything in the first place.

While Mingo's price tag a year ago was an early second-rounder, the Panthers aren't remotely interested in introducing him to others or developing him for their own use. This should keep costs down and provide the Chiefs with an asset that meets the club's needs in the short and long term.