CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- While walking his dog, Devin Funchess became the top dog -- at least in the Carolina Panthers' wide receiver room -- at 3:57 p.m. on Tuesday.

That's when the Panthers finalized the deal that sent No. 1 wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to Buffalo in exchange for a third- and seventh-round pick in 2018, beating the NFL trade deadline by three minutes.

Funchess would have known this sooner than he actually did had he not ignored the constant buzzing on his phone immediately after the trade was revealed.

"The right people weren't calling me, so I knew nobody died up in Michigan," Funchess, who grew up in the Detroit area, said on Thursday.

It wasn't a death.

But it was a loss.

And it was significant in particular for Funchess, who will move from the "Z" receiver spot to the "X" that Benjamin played.

Funchess will tell you it's no big deal, that his role won't change that much. He'll tell you he can play any receiver spot -- which is true -- and that he'd play running back if that's where the team wanted him.

But it is a big deal in that the Panthers (5-3) felt good enough about the play of Funchess in his third season that they were willing to move on from Benjamin less than a week before an important game against NFC South rival Atlanta (4-3).

Benjamin had more catches (168) and targets (314) than any receiver on the team since the Panthers selected him with the 28th pick of the 2014 draft -- even though he missed the 2015 season because of a knee injury.

"So you're basically saying I've got to have some excitement that they have that confidence in me?" Funchess said. "I don't get too high or low, though. You can ask anybody in the building. I just roll with the punches and keep on trying to make plays for the team."

Funchess doesn't wear a chip on his shoulder like the Carolina player -- Steve Smith, the team's all-time leading receiver -- who occupied his locker from 2001 to '13. He has more of a quiet confidence that sometimes can be misinterpreted as arrogance.

It's not.

"I'm always like this, except for on the field or on the court," said Funchess, who prides himself on being even-keeled. "I'm different [there]."

The Panthers hope the results are different on offense with Funchess taking over Benjamin's role and having more speed on the field at the other receiver spots.

Funchess and Benjamin were much the same player, and having them both on the field kept speed on the bench. That was the impetus of the trade, to get second-round draft pick Curtis Samuel, free agent acquisition Russell Shepard and third-year player Kaelin Clay on the field to provide some much-needed deep threats.

Without that threat, teams were stacking the box to stop the run and putting a lot of pressure on quarterback Cam Newton.

"We've got to get more speed on the field," interim general manager Marty Hurney said when the trade was made.

But having a big receiver with speed like Funchess was important in deciding to move on from Benjamin. Funchess has come into his own this season, already catching 10 more passes than he did a year ago, when he had 23.

"We're just going to call his number a little more," Shepard said.

Funchess was the player everyone hoped would step up in 2015 when Benjamin suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp. He wasn't ready, catching 31 passes on 63 targets even though Newton had an MVP season.

But he did have five touchdowns, one in each of the last three games.

Coach Ron Rivera has admitted Carolina underutilized Funchess last season, when the former Michigan star caught only 23 passes. Rivera said repeatedly the past few months that the coaches had to find more ways to get Funchess involved.

"He's going to be fine," Rivera said of how Funchess would handle the pressure. "It's not as if he hasn't done it."

What Rivera likes most about Funchess is his work ethic, down to jumping in to help the "show team" to give the Carolina defense a good look at the opposing offense.

"You see the maturity level," Rivera said. "I'm walking around at 6 o'clock in the morning and he's already here."

Funchess has matured. Now it's his time to prove worthy of the confidence the coaches have in him.

While he was shocked and saddened by the trade of Benjamin, he reminded his friend and former teammate that he would be fine -- with perhaps the exception of handling the winters in Buffalo.

Benjamin grew up in Florida, played at Florida State and never has lived farther north than Charlotte. Funchess grew up just outside of Detroit, so he knows cold.

"Their first sight of seeing snow is, 'Cool,' " Funchess said. "But I told him you're going up there where you might not be able to open the door."

But the door has been opened for Funchess to be the Panthers' lead receiver.

"Can't cry over spilled milk. Know what I'm saying?" Funchess said. "We can't be, 'Ah, we can't do nothing because he's gone.' We've got to step up to the plate and go out and make plays."