6 dynamic WR draft prospects Carolina Panthers must consider for Bryce Young

Carolina Panthers could draft Devontez Walker

The Carolina Panthers have been looking for a new tight end for years. Could someone like Devontez Walker be potentially converted to a productive pass-catching presence at the position by Dave Canales' coaching staff?

There was something my father would always say every time a player like Greg Olsen or especially Jason Witten would catch the football and go streaking down the sideline. He would say that they didn't run, but that they lumbered. That is the perfect description of Walker.

The North Carolina wideout will not blow by you with speed or a double move or get you on the backfoot with his quickness. But that isn't what makes Walker intriguing.

Walker has the innate ability to always be open, to always be available, and to be forgotten by the defense. All trademarks of the best of the old crop of receiving tight ends in the NFL. The young receiver also has the size to back this up if he can manage to bulk up just a little bit at training camp. However, there aren't many 6-foot-1 tight ends successfully plying their trade around the league.

This all means that Walker could very easily slot into the Panthers' offense as a hybrid tight end/wide receiver who can line up along the line in spread formations or on the outside as a traditional No. 2 in other situations. A kind of versatility that would pair well with the abundance of blocking tight ends that the team has at the moment.

It would also pair incredibly well with a deeper threat receiver like Diontae Johnson and a close-up slot presence in Adam Theilen. All of the attention would go to them, and rightfully so, allowing Walker to slide into the gap down the middle for a huge gain of his own.

Walker also has some of the surest hands in this draft class, so contested catches shouldn't be an issue where the North Carolina standout is concerned. This would be a shrewd late-round pickup by the Panthers - one of great value in a draft where Carolina has to make the most of every single decision they make.