The Carolina Panthers haven't had a genuine pass-catching threat at tight end for a long time. In fact, it's been almost a decade since injuries started taking their toll on Greg Olsen after the 2016 season. While there's hope Ja'Tavion Sanders can develop into one, it's past time that the Panthers made upgrading this spot an offseason priority.
With Evan Engram and Juwan Johnson off the board, their free agent options are relatively limited at this point. Another way they could upgrade this group instantly is by trading for someone like Eagles stud Dallas Goedert, who's apparently on the trade block.
The best way though is to take avantage of a deep, strong 2025 draft class at tight end, which is headlined by Penn State's Tyler Warren. While it's rare for a tight end to be taken in the top 10 overall picks, Warren might be an exception - and a new mock draft from David Helman at Fox Sports has him going to Carolina at number eight overall.
Fox Sports on Tyler Warren - Panthers
"Bryce Young needs a weapon, but no one said it had to be a receiver. Warren would help the Panthers' offense in a lot of ways, from downfield passing to the screen game to run blocking."
Warren (6-foot-6, 249 pounds) led the Big Ten with 104 catches last season as he racked up over 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns. That brings his college career totals to 153 receptions, 1,839 yards and 19 touchdown catches. However, Penn State has also occasionally used Warren as a rushing weapon, where he's put up another six touchdowns and over 2,000 yards. Observe.
Tyler Warren 2024 highlights
The Panthers have spent practically all of their energy (and money) in free agency on upgrading their defense. This is an understandable move given the high number of immediate needs the roster had on that side of the ball.
That said, it would be a pretty big mistake to make this entire offseason only about addressing their defense. Carolina's pass-catching group is one of the weakest in the league (Rotobollars recently ranked them 30th) and needs at least a couple more playmakers to get up to even an average level.
General manager Dan Morgan may not find a better one in the entire draft than Warren. The things that Bryce Young could do on the field with a capable tight end would help broaden his skillset and make this offense much more difficult to defend.
Next up, all they'd need is another strong starting safety (like Malaki Starks) to go with Tre'Von Moehrig and a legitimate second wide receiver to pair with Adam Thielen. That should give Carolina at least an average roster, assuming at least a couple of their defensive signings pay off. If a few of their 2024 rookies take the leap (we're looking at Sanders, Xavier Legette and Chau Smith-Wade) they shold be able to compete wtih all but a handful of the league's best teams.
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