Reporter's perspective on Panthers TEs should soothe fans' concerns

[ASFN Admin]

The Carolina Panthers currently do not have a Greg Olsen in their tight end room. But according to the perspective from some old guy, that's okay.

Team reporter Darin Gantt dished out the latest edition of his mailbag series, Ask The Old Guy, on Thursday afternoon. He was asked about Carolina's tight ends, and offered up a sound viewpoint for fans who have been concerned about a lack of production from the position.

Gantt writes:

The focal point of the passing game is going to be McMillan, and they have big targets alongside him. And the Panthers have a group of versatile tight ends who play a variety of roles. They were third in the league in usage of three-tight end personnel last year, and they'd have been higher if Ja'Tavion Sanders hadn't broken his ankle late in the year.

With the emphasis on the run game and the need for those blockers, I'm not sure this system is built for one of those guys like Olsen. It's a nice-to-have but far from a requirement.

Now, if another Olsen came along, would that be cool? Of course. For the football team and the podcast inventory.

Truly, Olsen—a two-time second-team All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler—was awfully nice to have. Not only was Greg the first tight end in NFL history to amass three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, but he's the last Panthers tight end to record at least 500 in one—which came way back in 2019.

But as Gantt notes, the construction of both the Panthers offense and today's game doesn't exactly require a prolific pass-catching tight end. While head coach Dave Canales certainly isn't shy to field them, he's also not hesitant to feed the top receivers on his team, such as Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker, and allow them to do what they do best.

As for the tight ends in Tommy Tremble, Ja'Tavion Sanders and Mitchell Evans—their best work has come in creating space for their teammates. Anything else is just a bonus.

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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers reporter offers sound perspective on team's TE situation

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