Carolina Panthers: Ian Thomas has a lot to prove in 2020
By Luke Tucker
With Greg Olsen now in Seattle, the Carolina Panthers currently appear committed to Ian Thomas at tight end.
When the Carolina Panthers elected to release tight end Greg Olsen at the end of January, it signaled not only the end of one era of Panthers football, but also a changing-of-the-guard at the position. In one of Matt Rhule’s first major moves as the Panthers’ head coach, he elected to move on from the 35-year-old player who had struggled to stay healthy in favor of a much younger, albeit raw, but also talented player in Ian Thomas. Moving on from Olsen, who was a three-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro while with Carolina, couldn’t have been an easy decision, but there’s no question Rhule wants a faster, younger, more athletic roster. Fortunately for Rhule and his team-building philosophy, that’s exactly what Thomas offers.
Thomas was quiet throughout much of the 2019 season, but came on strong in the absence of Olsen.
In what was an all-around dismal Week 13 loss to the Redskins this past December, Olsen was forced out of the game after suffering a violent head-to-head collision with a Washington defender. With Olsen out, it was Thomas who was forced into duty. At that point in the season, Thomas–then a second-year player–had had a rather disappointing season. Thomas put together a fairly impressive rookie campaign in 2018, catching 36 passes for 333 yards and a touchdown. As a result, many people had high expectations for him entering 2019. Prior to Olsen’s injury, Thomas had just one catch for four yards on the season, and had only been targeted five times all year. Once Olsen was sidelined though, his play really picked up.
In the two-and-a-half games that Olsen was out, Thomas was targeted 17 times, which he turned into 11 catches for 104 yards and a score. One of the best games of his career came in Kyle Allen’s meltdown in Week 14 against Atlanta in which he caught five passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. His impact on the stat sheet was limited the following game against Seattle; however, he ranked in the top 10 in both pass and run blocking among tight ends in Week 15 according to Pro Football Focus. Across the final five games of the year Thomas hauled in 15 catches for 132 yards and the lone score. Sure, it’s nothing spectacular, but considering who was playing quarterback and the state of the rest of the team, there is plenty of optimism surrounding his development.
As the presumed starter for the immediate future, Thomas will need to prove that he can be a consistent producer.
Seeing as though the Panthers chose not sign a highly-touted tight end in free agency, all signs seem to be pointing towards the team having faith in the third-year player. At 6’3,” 260 pounds, Thomas has good size and good speed for a big guy. There really is a lot to like about him. He has all the physical tools needed to be a starting-caliber tight end in the NFL, and he has undoubtedly flashed that potential at different points throughout his young career. That being said, the upcoming season should be all about Thomas putting that potential together for a full 16-game slate.
The significance of Thomas’ development carries even more importance when considering the team’s new offensive philosophy. In his lone season at LSU, new offensive coordinator Joe Brady made frequent use of his tight ends, often times having two on the field at one time. Thomas will obviously be the primary option at this point, while Chris Manhertz and newly acquired Seth DeValve will fight to be the second. It’s also worth noting that Brady’s offense tends to make superstars out of its tight ends. Thaddeus Moss, who prior to the 2019 season hadn’t recorded a catch since 2016, is now one of the top tight-end prospects in the upcoming draft thanks in large part to Brady’s scheme.
What this season ultimately comes down to for Thomas is consistency. If he can prove that he is the player we saw at the end of the 2018 and 2019 seasons, then he may well have a long career ahead of him. If he proves to be the player we saw from Weeks 1-12 of last year, then this time next year we will be talking about who the Panthers need to draft to fill the hole at the position. Carolina’s offense is shaping up to have its best arsenal of weapons in recent memory, so for the team’s sake and for Thomas’, let’s hope he can put it all together this season. After all, he’s one of the few incumbent players the new regime has shown faith in.