The Carolina Panthers seek to win the NFC South for the second straight year and made some additions this offseason to improve the roster. Defensively, they signed Devin Lloyd and Jaelan Phillips. Then, in the NFL draft, they bolstered the trenches by selecting Monroe Freeling and Lee Hunter.
They even took Chris Brazzell II, adding another weapon to the wide receiver room, but the position group that didn't see any additions is tight end. And with mandatory minicamp running from June 9 to June 11, the battle in the tight end room is something to watch for.
Carolina Panthers will look who steps up at tight end during minicamp
The tight end room was one position group where fans felt the team could have used some reinforcements, but Carolina steered against that. That means the battle between Tommy Tremble and Ja'Tavion Sanders is worth watching in the coming days to see if anyone takes the lead before training camp begins in August.
Tremble has been in Carolina for five seasons, but during his tenure, he hasn't developed into a massive receiving threat. In 78 games (50 starts) with the Panthers, he has logged 112 receptions (168 targets) for 1,031 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. He has never recorded more than 250 receiving yards in a season, with his career-bests in catches (27) and receiving yards (249) coming in 2025.
Meanwhile, Sanders is in the room, but his production decreased last season after an impressive rookie season in 2024. He saw his catches go from 33 to 29, with his receiving yards reducing from 342 to 190. The Texas product dealt with an ankle sprain that cost three games from Week 4 through Week 6 before his season ended in Week 17 with a broken ankle.
This is a crucial season for him, as the Panthers look to see if he can be a serious contributor in the right end room. The competition between Sanders and Tremble is important. Carolina clearly believes in these guys, as they didn't make any additions there.
That's a risky bet, considering that those two guys combined for 439 receiving yards last season. Mitchell Evans and Feleipe Franks are some other names in that room who will be fighting in camp. Evans had 171 receiving yards and two touchdowns last season. Meanwhile, Franks is back for his second stint with the team, but is more of a depth option.
The Panthers made strides in several areas on the team, but tight end wasn't one of them. That opens up the door for an important battle at tight end that should have the attention of fans going into the 2026 season.
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