CHARLOTTE — David Moore began vehemently nodding his head, unable to stay quiet when that is typically his modus operandi.

"He's great," the veteran wideout declared, cutting his eyes to receiver Jalen Coker, standing next to him in the Broncos visitor locker room.

"He's really great."

Moore hadn't even been asked a question about his teammate. He just wanted to make sure the record reflected both Coker's potential and his thoughts on the matter. While Moore's thoughts on the rookie will be noted, it's honestly becoming less of a secret and more of a takeaway from each game that is hard to miss.

Coker finished as the Panthers' leading receiver on Sunday, with four receptions on six targets for 78 yards and a touchdown. He's primarily played with Andy Dalton at quarterback, but with Dalton sidelined with a sprained thumb, Coker lined up on Sunday with Bryce Young starting at quarterback, giving another passer a chance to see what the rookie brings to the field.

"How consistent he is, how hard of a worker he is," Young said of what Coker offers. "From getting very limited reps throughout the offseason and practice squad and being so consistent throughout that, and then being the same person when he was put into a role like he was today."

Through five games, Coker has 12 receptions on 15 targets for 186 yards and a touchdown, the latter from Sunday. Panthers quarterbacks have a 112.8 rating when throwing to him, the best of any passer-receiver rating on the team.

Furthermore, Dalton and Young are averaging 13 air yards per pass when throwing to Coker, the longest of any receiver, and are throwing into a tight window 20 percent of the time, tied for third tightest amongst Panthers receivers.

"This is such a, what have you done for me lately type of league. So, I mean, you want to go out and you want to make plays, you want to produce, that's how you get those other opportunities," Coker said.

"As a rookie, especially an undrafted rookie, you're not expecting to be an integral piece to the offense in the beginning, (or) I feel like that's the outside perception. I feel like me personally, as soon as I step on the field, I can make an impact. But obviously that's going to take work and that's going to take messing up and coming back and doing it again and those trials and tribulations.

"But I'm not afraid of that work and I feel like I put a lot of it in, but, I have so much farther to go. So just going to continue to listen, you know, be a sponge and just continue to get better."

Coker has done that, getting better, week after week. Originally an undrafted free agent rookie signed by the Panthers after the draft, the Holy Cross product spent the offseason here. He was released in initial cuts to the 53 in late August, then added to the practice squad after clearing waivers. When the Panthers placed Adam Thielen on injured reserve following Week 3, Coker was elevated. With Thielen and Diontae Johnson (ribs) both out this past Sunday, the rookie saw his part in the game plan grow even more.

"No, I didn't," Coker admitted, when asked if he saw himself contributing this early. "You know, selfishly, you go in thinking that you're going to make plays. So, I mean, I was ready for the opportunity. I feel like the guys in the room always prepare me, they're always trying to get me ready. So, kudos to those guys, I mean, I wouldn't be here without them kind of teaching me, guiding me through all this stuff.

"But my number's called and you either shine or you break you know, so I got to just try to do my thing every day and just continue to stack and get better."

While he's stacked those games, he has also found moments to shine, making it clear the Panthers might have found something in the Virginia native, and possibly even a product to pair with first-rounder Xavier Legette around which to grow a receiving corps for the future.

Against the Broncos specifically, Coker had a play that would become a fixture on highlight reels if the Panthers had won. He lined up as the front part of a stack with Moore, and at the snap, ran towards the sideline, then followed it down for 29 yards. He had one defender draped on his back, and another crashing in from the field side to meet him at the point of the catch. Young dropped the ball in over his shoulder, and Coker kept his eyes there, not worrying about the defenders. He stayed cognizant of the sideline, dragging his feet to stay in bounds, and helped flip the field for the offense.

It's the kind of play that will make Moore speak up with praise.

"I kind of just take that with that chip on my shoulder," Coker said, "just always trying to get better, get a little bit better every day, make those plays when they come to me. So that next time, there's trust there and it's like, ok, I know he can make that play because he's done it 85 times before."

The Panthers fell 28-14 in the game. But Jalen Coker walked off the field with the ball from his first career touchdown and the chance for many more of those opportunities to come.

"I'm just going to keep (the ball) in my house, put it next to the one that I had in the preseason," Coker shared, along with a promise. "And just make room for some more."