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Heading into this season, wide receiver was supposed to be a huge problem for the Panthers. With 2014’s top wide receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, out for 2015, the Panthers’ passing game was in trouble.

Now that the Panthers are in the Super Bowl with that supposedly third-rate receiving corps, Cam Newton is taking delight in seeing those receivers prove people wrong. On Tuesday, Newton detailed all the things he heard about his receivers before the season started.

“Those guys have been playing lights out since day one, to say the least, from Ted Ginn, who was a bust for so many people. I heard Jerricho Cotchery was washed up 10 years ago, Philly Brown had no hands, Devin Funchess was too high of a pick for the Carolina Panthers, Brenton Bersin, who knows who he is, and just things of that sort. But for us, we didn’t let anyone else dictate to us that we knew what we were capable of. It’s a very close-knit group and guys selling out for each other,” Newton said.

The improvement in the Panthers’ passing game despite the loss of Benjamin is mostly a credit to Newton. But it’s also a credit to the Panthers’ receiving corps, which showed that it has a lot more talent than anyone thought.