INDIANAPOLIS – Three of the Panthers' top four wide receivers could become unrestricted free agents next month, and their leading receiver last season and in franchise history will celebrate his 35th birthday the Monday after the NFL Draft.

So it should come as little surprise that one of the most talked-about positions at the NFL Scouting Combine was talked about by Panthers head coach Ron Rivera on Friday.

"Wide receiver, offensive line, defensive secondary, defensive line - it is deep," Rivera said of the draft class that he's checking out in Indy. "You've got to look at all the options going forward.

"The biggest thing is to go through the Combine right now, evaluate the talent that's out there, see who they are. And then say, 'OK, this guy is going to be that kind of guy,' or 'There's not that kind of guy.' And we'll also look at the list of free agents."

Time will tell if the NFL free agents list that will go live March 11 will include some combination of Brandon LaFell, Ted Ginn and Domenik Hixon, who combined to 92 passes for 1,238 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Panthers last season. Steve Smith, who led Carolina wide receivers with 64 catches for 745 yards and added four touchdowns, won't be on the free agent list but realistically doesn't have too many seasons left in him.

"We're going through our process, and Steve is a part of what we're doing going forward," Rivera said. "How big of an impact he's going to have for us, that's going to be determined as we go through the draft process and through free agency. We'll see.

"It's all about the evaluations. We have to look through everything. There's a lot of scenarios that we're putting together as a football team. But Steve's part of who we are, and we'll go from there."

Regardless of which receivers return for next season, Rivera acknowledged that this offseason could provide a chance to upgrade the position group – if the right fits can be found.

"We're going to look for a guy that's very dynamic and that can come in and contribute right away," Rivera said. "A lot of these guys were in offenses where they played one position and one position only, and they run a combination of routes, and that's it. As you get out and watch the wide receivers, you try to find guys that can run different combinations of routes.