The Carolina Panthers haven’t gotten real production out of the tight end spot since the days of the great Greg Olsen. So, yeah, we’d have to go back to about 2019.
But will the team’s new offense finally make tight ends matter again?
Head coach Dave Canales, the mastermind of that new offense, spoke with reporters following Wednesday’s session of organized team activities. He was asked about the early impressions of his system being “friendly” to the position.
And, as he often does, Canales went into tremendous detail about his vision.
“I think it’s tight end-friendly,” he replied. “We don’t ask our tight ends to really to be dominant blockers at the point of attack on runs a lot. We will ask them at times.
“Within our system, we use their skill sets and we’re looking for tight ends with versatility. We’re not necessarily looking for that big 275-pound mauler type of tight end, although those guys are awesome and they have a place in this league. But if you have a smaller guy who’s more of a route runner and he’s a little bit crafty—then at the run, you can slide him back and block a defensive end on the backside. You can send him up away from a defensive end, in or out depending on where his alignment is.
“And so that allows him to get better matchups in blocking—linebackers, safeties, sometimes corners. That becomes our advantage. So that part of it is really friendly for the tight ends.
“And then just within the scheme, because we throw a lot of play actions, the tight ends are involved in different ways. Just getting them in the flat, dragging them underneath the linebackers—the ball finds those guys a lot because we ask ’em to block and all of a sudden, they’re bluffing the linebacker and they show up on the other side.”
Over the past three seasons, all Panthers tight ends have combined for 1,530 yards and eight touchdowns on 154 receptions. By comparison, San Francisco’s George Kittle—the leading receiver amongst all tight ends in 2023—recorded 1,020 yards and six touchdowns this past year alone.
As for Canales’ leading tight end during his lone season as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator, we look to Cade Otton—who tallied 455 yards and four scores. Tommy Tremble paced Carolina’s group in 2023 with 194 yards and three touchdowns.
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