There are realistic ways for the Carolina Panthers to fix their tight end room this offseason.
They could draft a prospect like Kenyon Sadiq in the first round. They could get creative with the cap and pursue a veteran such as David Njoku. They could continue developing the young quartet already in the building.
All of those paths make sense. None of them is why Panthers fans keep circling back to the same thought they know they shouldn’t have.
What if the answer is sitting in Atlanta? What if the one player who perfectly fits what Dave Canales wants from this offense is Kyle Pitts Sr.?
Kyle Pitts Sr. would solve everything for the Carolina Panthers, but it's an impossible dream
This entire idea only exists because of one sentence from Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham.
“It’s my job as the General Manager to do what’s best for the organization. Kyle [Pitts] is a great player. We’ve seen his skill set. Also, it’s my job to listen."
The Falcons franchise tagged Pitts instead of extending him. That matters. Tagged players get traded more often than teams like to admit. It happened when the Panthers shipped edge rusher Brian Burns to the New York Giants.
Pitts is on a one-year, $15 million tag. He’s 25. He just put up 88 catches for 928 receiving yards and five touchdowns, finishing second among all tight ends in production behind Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals.
If Atlanta were purely thinking like a front office with no emotional ties, no rivalry baggage, and no history, they would absolutely listen. But not if the Panthers came calling.
The Panthers ran 13 personnel on 7.8 percent of their snaps last year, sixth highest in the league. Their tight ends accounted for 21% of the offense. They block. They protect. They convert first downs. They are structural pieces of the scheme.
Now imagine dropping Pitts into that.
He’s not a traditional tight end but rather more like a wide receiver in a tight end’s body. A matchup weapon who can live in the slot, out wide, or attached to the line. The exact type of chess piece Canales describes when he talks about what this offense can become. There’s a reason the Falcons selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
And now pair that with quarterback Bryce Young, who is at his best throwing over the middle, in rhythm, to big targets who separate with route running instead of pure speed.
While it’s practically an impossible trade, the perfect fit is exactly why Panthers fans can’t help but dream just a little.