Asked by a Charlotte reporter what he tells his team about the Rams as they prepare for them, Panthers head coach Steve Wilks starts with reminding them that they're the Super Bowl champs.
They also still have plenty of talent, too.
"Well, number one, you're talking about the Super Bowl champs," Wilks told Charlotte reporters Wednesday. "(Head coach Sean) McVay does a tremendous job in his preparation in getting his guys ready to play. These guys are talented across the board."
At the top of mind offensively is wide receiver Cooper Kupp, tight end Tyler Higbee and quarterback Matthew Stafford. Kupp leads the NFL in receptions (49) and is second in receiving yards (527), while Higbee is the Rams' second-leading receiver with 33 catches for 290 yards.
"Kupp is one of the best dynamic receivers in the league, Higbee is still a very efficient tight end that can get open and beat the one-on-ones," Wilks said. "Their quarterback, to me, is still playing at a high level."
And, as is usually the case for opposing head coaches, offensive gameplanning starts with Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald and defensive back Jalen Ramsey.
"When you go on the defensive side of the ball, you're talking about a future hall-of-famer in Donald," Wilks said. "We gotta do a great job of being able to neutralize him if we can, because he's just so dominant. And you talk about one of the top corners in the league as well with Ramsey."
That being said, Wilks is confident in his team.
"They got a lot of talent, and I told our guys we got a lot of talent too," Wilks said.
