Ian Thomas is perhaps the most even-keeled player in the locker room – no matter what the question, whether he’s taking over a role as the Panthers’ #1 tight end as he’s now done twice this season, being the first pick on the third day of the draft or becoming Cam Newton’s most-looked to target as he piled up nine receptions – he had 16 total in his entire rookie season to this point – over the course of a Panthers 26-20 loss in Cleveland. Whether it’s a loss that likely ended the Panthers playoff hopes or a last-second win over the Giants on the second-longest field goal in NFL history, Thomas’ tone never changes.
Even as his role does.
Thomas, who has been thrust back into the lead tight end role after Greg Olsen suffered his third foot injury in three years and was placed on injured reserve, played almost every snap in Cleveland and set career highs in both receptions and receiving yardage as he amassed the most receiving yards for a Panthers rookie tight end in a game in franchise history and was a single reception shy of tying the franchise record for catches by a tight end at 10.
Thomas led the Panthers will 11 targets – to put that in perspective, Zach Ertz, the most targeted tight end in the league, averages 10.1 targets per game – Olsen averaged 4.2.
“He definitely stepped up big time and contributed in a major way – that’s just a testament to his preparation throughout the week and learning from everyone,” said fellow tight end Chris Manhertz, whose role is more as a blocker than as a receiver – the reason Thomas saw such little playing time during the middle chunk of the season spoke not to the way the coaching staff viewed him, but the amount of snaps Olsen played. With Olsen out, that huge workload will fall to Thomas. “[It’s] definitely a step in the right direction for him. That type of stuff didn’t surprise me because we see it in practice all the time.”
“It’s not a matter of ability for him – it’s just a matter of opportunity. And he made the most of it.”
Cam Newton has insisted this season that the rookie doesn’t know just how good he is, but if there are more games like he had in Cleveland, the best is yet to come.
“I kind of had to step my game up and do what I had to do to fill that void, but I’ve got to just do a little bit more on the offensive side and the defenside to come out with the W,” said Thomas after the game. “It’s not about me, but I feel like the team played well. We could have played better, but that’s how it went.”
Thomas wasn’t surprised by the amount of work he got today – that’s what they’ve been doing in practice and he knows that when he ball comes his way, it’s up to him to make a play. And with the future of Olsen up in the air after the 33-year old with the ruptured plantar fascia wouldn’t speculate on whether he would entertain the notion of retiring – don’t forget it was Olsen who interviewed for the announcer booth at Monday Night Football before last season – the future looks bright for the 22-year old Thomas, who played only 11 games in college, so his improvement level as he learns the game will continue to grow at a rapid pace. It’s just not easy to get him to talk about himself.
If he keeps having games like he had today, he won’t have to – it’ll be his play on the field that will do that talking.
