Carolina Panthers: FBs, TEs among Undrafted Free Agents
The Carolina Panthers have made a handful of undrafted free agent signings so far.
If you were unimpressed with the way the Carolina Panthers ended the draft yesterday, then you probably won’t take much solace in how the team has so far handled undrafted free agents. Just as yesterday’s seventh rounder was a tight end out of Montana State, the free agents the Panthers have extended a hand so far are tight ends and fullbacks.
The Panthers dipped their toe in the North Dakota State pool and picked up fullback/tight end Andrew Bonnet. With Bonnet the Panthers are also taking flyers on Florida tight end Jake McGhee and Marshall fullback Devon Johnson.
The only player not from one of those positions was Florida Atlantic wide receiver Jenson Stoshak. The 6’1” receiver was good for 800 yards of receiving last year as a senior.
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The second wave added another receiver, Tulsa’s Keyarris Garrett. The Panthers also added Utah linebacker Jared Norris.
The lack of activity on the Panthers’ part in the undrafted free agent pool suggests the team is pretty set with how its roster looks now. That should not be surprising for a team that just went to the Super Bowl and lost only one major player from that team.
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The focus on fullbacks and tight ends speaks to the importance of the running game for the Panthers. The Panthers are unusual in using the fullback position as much as they do with Mike Tolbert, but they need some sort of plan if Tolbert were to go down with injury. That is why I pushed for drafting Glenn Gronkowski, and why I am pleased the Panthers are looking at Johnson and Bonnet.
Tight end is a little different. The Panthers carried three tight ends through much of last season, but they would have preferred to have more. Injuries at other positions made that an impossibility and was the reason the Panthers were forced to let go of Brandon Williams. You can see from their late draft movement and guys like McGee that they would like to get back to carrying four.
It is a little early to close the book on the undrafted free agent signing period, but given the lack of aggressiveness, don’t expect to much more here.