Tight End and Fullback
For the best part of a decade, the tight end position has been an area of real strength for the Panthers, with Greg Olsen building a Hall of Fame resume game-by-game, but having lost half of last season to a broken foot, Olsen once again succumbed to a similar injury in the first game of this season and again a few months later. While Greg Olsen is expected to return to the Panthers for the 2019 season, the days where he can be relied on for 16 starts, 1,000 yards and a handful of touchdowns are likely over.
To be clear, that doesn’t mean that Olsen doesn’t have the ability to put up these numbers again, but rather that following two broken feet in two seasons, Olsen’s production in 2019 should be seen more as a bonus than a foundational piece of the offense. So where does that leave the Panthers at the tight end position?
There is one obvious bright point besides Olsen, as rookie Ian Thomas has done some nice things with the playing time he has received this season. He ranks fourth among rookie tight ends in yards, third in targets and second in receptions in limited action. While there are definite things he needs to improve on – his blocking has been inconsistent and he still needs to work on his route running in order to separate more consistently – but given how raw he was coming out of Indiana, the Panthers should be extremely pleased with his progress.
The question that remains is whether Thomas is ready to take on all the slack left by Olsen should he miss extended time?
There should be legitimate debate regarding the answer to this question – given how much Thomas has grown this season, the idea that he could look like a legitimate starting tight end come September is not completely absurd, but what is more likely true is that he isn’t there yet. Unlike at quarterback or on the offensive line, the Panthers might be able to fill the full responsibilities of the tight end position with the pieces they already have on the roster, but if they decide that the pieces they have don’t quite add up to what they want, it wouldn’t be a shock for them to look to add somebody either through the draft or free agency.
The other question they need to address is what they are doing in terms of specialist blockers, as the Panthers currently have both Alex Armah and Chris Manhertz on the roster with both players being used almost exclusively as blockers and special teamers. This is the NFL in 2019, and teams can’t afford for 15% of their offensive skill position players to be specialist blockers. Nothing is certain at this stage, but one of either Armah and Manhertz could be a matter of either/or – creating space for an extra receiver, tight end or running back, with the survivor being expected to take all of the snaps as a specialist blocker at both fullback and tight end.
With all that said and done, the Panthers could roll into 2019 with Armah, Manhertz, Olsen and Thomas on the roster and nobody else – but given the uncertainty around both Olsen and Thomas, sacrificing one of Manhertz or Armah for another receiving option would make a lot of sense.
Next Up: Wide Receivers and the Biggest Question on the Roster