Grading Panthers position groups on offense after 2022 NFL Draft
By Noah Bryce
Carolina Panthers TEs
The tight end room is quite possibly the biggest head-scratcher of all on offense after basically nothing was done to improve a lethargic group from 2021.
Even with a vote of confidence from new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, Ian Thomas has never shown the ability to be an NFL tight end. There is nothing to show that anything will change this season and one could argue that the skills, instinct, and ability just simply are not there.
One possible bright spot is that Tommy Tremble looks to be the No. 1 tight end this season.
There is a reason for optimism as he greatly improved as a pass-catcher as the campaign went on. However, that doesn’t mean that the second-year player is a weapon by any stretch of the imagination.
This team has no true threat at tight end, no one to stretch the field or cause problems in the red zone. I hoped that the Carolina Panthers would have rectified this with one of the many solid players in the draft, but there was no such luck.
Once again the team will trot out a subpar pass-catching group in an era that is relying heavily on pass-catching tight ends. Because, while Colin Thompson is a solid depth piece, asking him to get prominent reps is stretching things just a little.
Position Grade: D
That grade may seem harsh, but there was a lot of room for improvement and it simply didn’t happen this offseason. The only way that grade gets any higher is if Thomas suddenly lives up to the potential everyone always talks about or Tremble makes a substantial leap in Year 2.
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There was a lot of improvement this offseason at some key positions, whether that was reinforcing already sturdy ones or completely revamping others.
These moves give a real sense that this team could be much improved this time around. However, there are still massive holes and not much depth behind the stars of this team to speak of.
This all boils down to a ceiling of possibly a wild card berth if things fall just right for the Panthers this season. But not much more.