Panthers draft: Why didn’t Carolina take a chance on Thaddeus Moss?

The Carolina Panthers draft team did not pursue the possibility of taking tight end Thaddeus Moss, but why did the tight end go undrafted?

It was something of a surprise that the Carolina Panthers draft team did not pick up a tight end with any of their selections in 2020. They lost Greg Olsen to the Seattle Seahawks in free agency and failed to find a cheap alternative in free agency.

Former LSU standout Thaddeus Moss was a much-hyped named during the evaluation process after playing a starring role for the Tigers in the National Championship game. However, this did not translate to the player being selected by any team over the three days.

This was arguably the biggest omission given Moss’s family pedigree and his ability to perform in the big stage. The Panthers draft ended up being a historic one with each pick allocated on defense. But this does not detract from the need for young offensive players to perhaps contribute in areas of need.

NFL Draft analyst Charlie Campbell of Walter Football spoke to multiple teams regarding Moss’ situation and may have found the reasons why no franchise took a chance on him.

"“Multiple team sources say that medical concerns around a foot injury and durability played a role in Moss going undrafted. They also said that size was an issue for the 6-foot-2, 250-pounder, as that is very short and lacking length for an NFL tight end. Another team said that it hurt Moss that he didn’t test before the draft and they felt he was slow with a bad body, but a good player at the college level.”"

Moss was not on the free-agent market for long after signing a deal with the Washington Redskins. The Panthers did eventually agree on terms with tight end duo Giovanni Ricci and Cam Sutton, who will look to earn a spot on the 53-man roster during training camp.

The Panthers draft is going to have to play well from the off, which makes it strange Moss wasn’t at least on their radar with a late-round flier. Putting him behind Ian Thomas and used as a red-zone target early on would have been an intriguing option that should have been considered.

There is going to be a lot of teams kicking themselves if Moss reaches his ceiling. While not taking a tight end during the Panthers draft might have been a vote of confidence in Thomas. It has left the franchise dangerously short if the former fourth-round pick does not pan out as expected.