Carolina Panthers: Thinking Inside the Box at Number 8
The Carolina Panthers might look at the tight end position in the upcoming NFL Draft’s first round.
The Carolina Panthers continue to look at all options in the upcoming NFL Draft. Following their possible logic in the choosing the eighth pick can only go so far. This is evident in that the mock drafters themselves do not agree on what route the Panthers will take anymore. For the longest time there was a general consensus around running back Leonard Fournette, but that has started to fall apart as different mockers cannot decide if Fournette will be available or if he is the best choice.
While the names attached to the eighth pick are growing, the logic of the Panthers has not changed. They will take the best player available. That can be a loaded term. Let’s unpack it. They will not draft a kicker, punter, or quarterback with the pick. Even if Mitch Trubisky was the best player on the board, the Panthers are not waiting ten years with an expensive backup quarterback.
It does open some options that we might overlook. That option takes us back to the year 2011 and the rookie season of Cam Newton. Newton came in and the Panthers made two moves to make his life as a young quarterback easier. They traded for Greg Olsen and they signed Jeremy Shockey. The Miami tight ends were used to the Robb Chudzinki offense from their time with the Miami playbook. It offered Newton some easier options in flexible two tight end sets that could block or attack for him.
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When Shockey left the roster the next year, the idea did not really die. The Panthers just had a hard time finding a second tight end flexible enough to make the concept work. They eventually signed Ed Dickson, who was a good receiver but lacked the punishing physicality of Shockey. Dickson is on the roster still and we hope he can contribute more this season.
However there is another way. That would be the eighth pick in the draft. O.J. Howard of Alabama represents the kind of physical specimen the Panthers have been looking for at the tight end position. The 6’6” 251 lbs product is just the kind of big target that Newton needs, and he would bring instant pressure to defenses that focus on Olsen.
The move would be back to the future for the Panthers. This time Olsen would be the lead tight end and Howard the understudy. In time, when Olsen is gone, Howard would likely be in his prime with the possibility of no drop off from the tight end position. Newton would have a new security blanket while he was still a viable starting quarterback.