Story by
Greg Olsen has interesting take on Panthers' current TE situation
- Story by
- Greg Olsen has interesting take on Panthers' current TE situation
The Carolina Panthers have been fielding one of the NFL's least productive tight end rooms over the last handful of seasons. In fact, they haven't had a single tight end hit the 500-yard receiving mark since the 2019 campaign.
Well, the last one to do it spoke about the team's outlook at the position on Tuesday.
Advertisement
Greg Olsen joined WFNZ's Mac & Bone to discuss the eventful offseason of the reigning NFC South champions. And naturally, the greatest tight end in franchise history was asked for his opinion on the Panthers' current situation at the spot.
"I think it's a young group. I still think it's a solid group that's gonna continue to kinda do the job and piece it together," Olsen replied . "I think each guy probably has one element of the offense that he's better at than the others, and I think that's really what it's been—it's been kinda a position room by committee."
That committee features soon-to-be sixth-year veteran Tommy Tremble , 2024 fourth-round pick Ja'Tavion Sanders and 2025 fifth-round pick Mitchell Evans . Tremble led the bunch with 249 receiving yards this past season, while Sanders and Evans chipped in 190 and 171 yards—respectively.
Olsen went on to state that while head coach Dave Canales and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik may not require their tight ends to play a major role in the pass-catching department, Carolina might eventually have to track down a do-it-all presence to complete the unit.
Advertisement
"I think there's still guys that are developing," he added. "At some point, you gotta look and be honest and say—ok, is there a top-tier guy? Is there an every-down, every-play threat that we can develop at the position that is gonna be able to complement and take pressure off the perimeter receivers and the investments we've made in first-round picks with [Tetairoa] McMillan and [Xavier] Legette, and now this year with [Chris] Brazzell?
"So I think as they continue to invest in the wide receivers and continue to invest in the offensive line, and it does feel like the last piece of the puzzle is finding a true game-changer at the tight end position. And that's not to say that Tommy and those guys, Sanders, aren't doing a good job. I think they are. I think they're gonna continue to play the role that's being asked of them."
Tremble also led all Carolina tight ends with 37 targets—the sixth-highest total on the team and just 11 more than wide receiver Hunter Renfrow , who appeared in only six games.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers offseason: Greg Olsen is asked about Carolina's TE situation
