Why Carolina Panthers Ja’Tavion Sanders can finally be the Greg Olsen replacement

have the Panthers finally found Greg olsson's replacement we'll talk about it right here on locked on Panthers you are locked on Panthers your daily Carolina Panthers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day welcome in to another edition of the lockon Panthers podcast the part of the lockon podcast Network I'm your host as always Julian Council talking Carolina Panthers with you every Monday Wednesday and Friday as we're still in offseason mode but starting on July 15th we'll be back to your team every day which is our motto here on the lockon podcast Network subscribe or follow the show for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast and be sure to follow me on Twitter at Julian counsil where the weekly Friday mailbag will continue on July 26th as the Panthers will be in training camp then today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more right now new customers get $200 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that's $200 bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet visit fel.com Lockton to get started today we continue our annual positional breakdowns here in Carolina last week started off with the quarterbacks then talked about the running backs and on Friday broke down the wide receiver position in Carolina and on today show let's take a look at the tight end Group which Dave Canales said two weeks ago they believe is a very versatile Group which is interesting considering the Panthers have had the worst tight end group since Greg Olsen left Carolina in 2019 then retired F the 2020 season which he spent in Seattle and quite honestly the Panthers have not been able to replace Greg Olsen which leads me to the biggest story about the biggest name in the tight end room and my opinion the biggest story and the biggest name is just havon Sanders Carolina Panthers fourth round pick out of Texas Pick 101 someone who probably should have gone day two but didn't which is the benefit of the Carolina Panthers talking about it during the draft I was hopeful the Panthers could land a tight end of the caliber of Tavon Sanders I never necessarily believe that he would be available for the Panthers considering the other needs that they had and was not necessarily the approach Panthers took as they took a running back in the second round took a linebacker in the third round two positions that you wouldn't looked that heading to the draft thinking that the Panthers needed to address you felt like tight end was a position that they absolutely needed to address and they didn't address it during cency where Noah Fant will dley and Kobe Parkinson all three of the Seattle tight ends were all available as free agents vate and Seattle the other two had la playing for the Rams and Chargers respectively and the Panthers kind of struck out there with one of those Seahawks tight ends so the Panthers were not able to bring anyone in during free agency they needed to do it during the draft and they did it by getting JT Sanders and I said it then I'll still say it now favorite pick of the draft and I really think that the Panthers have finally found Greg olsson's replacement they have not been able to do that Greg olsson's last fully healthy season before all the foot issues was in 2016 which is also the last year of his backto back to back thousand yard receiving Seasons when he was their best receiving option Ted gin Jr had one of those years that was big there were times where Devin Fess and Philly Brown and hell even Britton buron showed up but really there were times where guys like kayin clay just couldn't catch the football when you needed him to in a vital Wild Card round game on the road in Seattle Cam Newton never really had the greatest of receivers but he had Greg Olsen and Greg Olsen has an opportunity to have a bust in Canton which shows the value that he has in Carolina and just how good of a player he was in the NFL overall Carolina since losing Greg Olson in 2019 his last year where he played 14 games had 52 receptions 597 yards two touchdowns they have not even come close to replacing him as a unit let alone finding a singular replacement as that pass catching tight end in that big part of the offense we have become a custom here since the iteration of the p Panthers them coming to Carolina since the Inception rather of the team of having that high level pass catching tight end we had Greg had Wesley Walls hell even Dante Rosario had his moments in time we have not been used to what's been going on here over the last five seasons where the Panthers have had the worst or last four season R the Panthers had the worst Titan production in the NFL and going through it 2020 pandemic season first year without Greg Olson the Panthers tight in group collectively y'all 27 receptions 204 yards two touchdowns that's terrible 2021 38 receptions 368 yards single touchdown again brutal it got better the last two seasons back in 2022 combined 50 receptions 517 yards three touchdowns which is still collectively worse than what Greg olon did individually in his final season in Carolina with the 52 receptions by 97 yards and two touchdowns so one more touchdown but less receptions less yardage last year the Panthers finally had more receptions together as a tight end room than they did than Greg olon did in 2019 with 59 compared to 52 but still less yardage 561 yards compared to 597 but they did double his T touchdown total with four touchdowns last year compared to the two that he had in his final season either way the numbers that we've seen this group put together if that was one player you wouldn't be happy about 2020 or really 2021 you'd be pretty comp content with it in 22 and 23 the problem is it's been three it's been four it's been five players combining for those numbers and we felt like this time last year the Panthers had finally found Greg Olsen's replacement they signed Hayden hurse to a three-year $21.75 million deal with 13 million guaranteed and what did he do had a great opening game against Atlanta where he was the Panthers leading receiver had a touchdown but in totality it was 18 receptions for 184 yards and of course that lone touchdown coming week one against the Falcons that was his season he missed the final eight games due to complications suffered from a concussion and I was concerned about his overall health and wondered whether he could he should still play football and I understand I'm not a neurologist I'm not a doctor but still we understand now as a general public that concussions aren't something to mess with that's your brain now he's a charger best of luck with him in LA but the Panthers made the right decision healthwise but really production wise to not keep Hayden Hurst around so that now brings me to JT Sanders who the Panthers use that first pick in the fourth round to select out of Texas Daniel Jeremiah on the NFL Network right as selection was made you're drafting him for what he's going to give you in a passing game not so much in the red game and here's the thing I'm not concerned about what the tiend group here in Carolina can do in the Run game I am concerned what they can do do in the passing game and what they have done in the passing game over the last four years since Greg Olsson left that is my concern so when Daniel Jeremiah said that fine sign me up we have run blockers here what you need are pass are pass catchers and really Playmakers which none of the tight ends returning in my opinion are now there's one of them Tommy trim we'll get to him momentarily who I think can take that next step but is he going to put the numbers that Greg put up his last season or what I think JT sers can do no and here's the thing about tight end position typically if he did not produce in the passing game in the Collegiate level you're unlikely to put up numbers once you get to the NFL looking at what JT Sanders did his last two seasons at Texas 99 receptions 1295 yards seven touchdowns so quick Google search of Tommy trimble's college stats and you'll just see the difference between what Sanders did and what Trimble did when he was at Notre Dame when he Notre Dame for two seasons Tommy Trimble had 35 receptions 396 yards and four touchdowns so again compare that to what JT Sanders did at Texas for two seasons 99 receptions 60 more 61 more 64 more let me do math 64 more than what Tom Tommy trible had in his two seasons at Notre Dame and in 12 295 yards compared to 396 four touchdowns compared to seven so the touchdown totals kind of close but the production overall not anywhere close which is what brings the expectation that JT Sanders can finally be that Greg olssen replacement he was tied 18th in college football last season for yards at the catch at 7.7 which is pretty dog on good for a tight end and he was second among FBS Titans with 12 catches of 20 plus yards in 2023 only behind of course BR Bowers the first round pick so I think this is the replacement of Greg Olson I think the Panthers have finally done it and we've waited four long years there have been false prophets like and Thomas and even Tommy trembled to a lesser extent who have not lived up to those expectations the expectations should truly be on gavon Sanders to be the replacement of Greg Olsson something the Panthers have not been able to do over the last four years and really even those two years when Greg went down last kind of six and a half years here in Carolina Sanders is the answer and I'm excited to watch him play so we know JT Sanders is coming in here when he potentially can provide what about the rest of the tight end room can Tommy Trimble take that next step what exactly is Ian Thomas's role G to be in are any other guys gonna make the team we talk about that here in just a moment unlocked on Panthers summertime means baseball and you can bet it all on FanDuel right now new customers get $200 in bonus bet of any winning $5 bet that's 200 bucks you can use to bet on who's going to hit one out of the park whether it's Major League Baseball as we're getting close to the midsummer classic cannot wait to see the Home Run Derby and all the things that happen with the allstar game or you can bet on who's going to win the AL MVP or NL MVP Sai Young all that and of course going on in Omaha go FanDuel they have the odds Tennessee Texas A&M championship series starting on Saturday potentially ending on Sunday depending how things play out go over to FanDuel visit fanduel.com lockon and add a big win to your summer bucket list FanDuel America's number one sports book I think the Panthers have found Greg Olson's replacement finally at long last they have that man in Javon Sanders so what does that mean for the rest of the tight end room here in Carolina taking a quick look at the depth chart the guy who's still even with the addition of Sanders is at the top of the depth chart is Tommy Trimble and I thought Tommy Trimble played really well last season now the numbers as far as receiving wise aren't going to be overwhelming and that's going to play a big role on how some of the advanced analytics like Pro Football Focus look at him but overall I thought like he had a good season a solid season especially considering like he's been a solid player but really fi took that next step forward last year now heading into this season can he take an even bigger step forward he did say that last off season that was the first time in his career as a panther heading into year three where he had actually been taught how to run routes as a tight end and was really thinking about being a receiver at that position where prior when Joe Brady was here that wasn't really the expectation for him and really for the tight end room that changed last season and I think even without having the whole pedigree of Frank Reich liking tight ends even though they really use them all that much now Dave Canalis we saw last year Kate dton and Tampa that they will utilize a tight end like they did with Aon in the past game so I'm expecting that to be the case and Canal said a lot of positive things about the versatility of this group and how he thinks that they can be that checkdown that safety valve for Bryce young and be a part of the pass game just how big of a part of the pass game will the guys not named Savon Sanders be that is the question really I'm wondering again can Tommy Trimble take the next step last year look at his stats in the receiving game 32 targets 23 receptions 194 yards three touchdowns nothing to really write home about but a 50% receiving success rate had a 71.9% catch percentage which is pretty Dar gone good when you look at what the receivers catch percentage were now they did get more targets than Trimble did but a lot of those guys not Nam Adam th had a tough time bringing those Targets in and getting open Trimble was pretty solid too once Hayden Hurst went down that's when the bulk of those numbers came came out 20 targets 12 receptions 121 yards and a touchdown in the eight games that Hayden Hurst missed last season and just looking at his career and it's just kind of the thing when trim when uh Trimble hiive tries to talk about oh their guy is gonna be a breakout candidate that he's gonna really be that answer at the tight end position his career numbers to date y'all 62 receptions 548 yards seven touchdowns and just compare that to the last year of Greg olon in Carolina Greg had 52 receptions 57 yards two touchdowns so less yardage in his career than what Greg Olson had his final season as Carolina Panther in 2019 and I understand you're probably saying right now we're not saying he's gonna be Greg Olsen totally get it remember Greg ol damn good player Wy wall is damn good player both are going to be wy's already up there Greg will be up there in the Ring of Honor one day I don't know Tommy Trimble is going to make it up into the Ring of Honor especially with those career stats now he has a chance to be better looking at Prof ball focus last year his overall grade was 55.6 52nd out of 72 tight ends his receiving grade was 62.0 32 out of 49 qualifying tight ends in his run block rade which this is where he's really been considered a plus player for the Panthers it was a 44.5 low as of his career and that has declined since his rookie year I don't know if the eyes match the numbers and a lot of times with PFF the eyes don't always match the num numbers and when they do you know that players an elite player so I think he was probably more of a middle of the road tight end than kind of one of those backend tight ends in the NFL last year uh but if you're going to factor in a lot of things like receiving that's just not really he going to be but his receiving grade is better than his blocking grad that is very interesting to me as far as Tommy Trimble I expect Tommy to be kind of that that first string guy he's gonna be the onea jaon Sanders 1B they're going to want to throw him the ball a little bit they're going to also want to have him as a run blocker primarily and he'll be a good compliment to Davon Sanders who's coming in as a rookie here in Carolina Ian Thomas I call him the Survivor because I have no idea how the hell he's still on this roster and I know a lot of y'all are sick of him being in Carolina are also wondering how of all the guys like Brian Burns he's gone Dante Jackson he's gone DJ Moore Christian mcaffrey how is it that those players AR in Carolina and Ian Thomas is in Carolina well one because there those players are actually valued and coveted outside of Charlotte whereas Ian Thomas has no value but he has value in a way here in Carolina as the tight end three I think heading into the season as a run Blocker we thought for a period of time that he could be Greg Olson's replacement and after six seasons we now firmly know that is not going to be the case five receptions last year on a career low nine targets I both of those are career lows 56 yards that's what you put up in a single game I'm pretty sure that's what Hayden Hur put up in his first game against Atlanta before he decided not to do anything the rest of the year really wasn't even targeted 27% of the offensive snaps is what Thomas played last year which matches 2019 so that was the last year of GRE Olson and that was his third year in the league not not ideal look at his numbers first two seasons in Carolina when there was some hope that he could be a solid pass catcher at the Titan spot 52 receptions 79 targets 469 yards three touchdowns pretty solid especially for a guy who had to fi for Greg Olson at times Past Four Seasons 64 receptions on 100 targets 586 yards and a touchdown again if someone can do that in one single season that's good if it's across Four Seasons especially when they put up similar numbers across their first two that ain't it and Ian Thomas I don't expect him to be a part of the pass game and when you think about this year even with like Trimble and Sanders I mean Sanders a littleit different Deontay Johnson going to be the top Target there at wide receiver you're going to want to get the ball Adam th You're Gonna Want to get the ball to Xavier liette You're Gonna Want to get the ball to Jonathan Brooks whenever he's healthy out of the back field you're not trying to get the ball to Yas you're not trying to get the ball at Tommy Trimble you want to get the ball Davon Sanders the tight end spot so tight end option is gonna be the fourth or fifth option third at best anyways in this offense so with that in mind Ian Thomas you've already learned how to block buddy but continue to learn how to block that's what your role is going to be this season Stefon Sullivan former wide receiver at LSU who's transitioned into a tight end in the NFL and it's a tough transition as I've brought up before if you weren't much of a receiver in college likely not gonna be that in the NFL and it's a position that takes some time we're seeing time and Trimble continue to progress throughout his career here entering the year four contract year last year's rookie deal those are always undefeated well not always most times are undefeated and Tavon Sanders going to take him some time I do think he's Greg's replacement just G to kind of try and manage expectations early on but he'll get there I have no doubt about that Stefon Sullivan had 12 receptions last year on 24 targets that's a 50% catch percentage which is pretty good uh 125 yards and five of those 12 receptions went for a first down so at the very least if it give be somebody who can help you pick up first downs on third down or even early on on first second down I like that I don't know how much this staff's goingon to Value him now here's the thing I believe and let me do another quick Google search here while I'm um recording with you all now I believe he spent he began his career in Seattle which I'm still on the college stats let's see I'm pretty sure that's Fon San began his career in Seattle which if is that if that's the case that absolutely will help him in his pursuit to make this team and he spent 2020 in Seattle so Dave Canalis they're aware of who what he who he is and what he can provide potentially so that will give him an opportunity to make the roster in Carolina the final tight end is Jordan Matthews who once upon a time was a promising wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles out of Vandy now a converted tight end over the hill past the age of 30 Frank Reich guy so don't really think he's gonna get an opportunity to be one of the guys who stays on the roster in Carolina so how many tight ends will the Panthers keep this upcoming season we'll talk about that here in just a moment locked on Panthers how many tight ends will Dave Canalis and the Panthers want to keep on this offense Canalis says that he has a versatile tight end room I wonder just how versatile those guys are outside of well here that's interesting too because we talk about versatility quick aside Sanders is considered more a pass catcher than a blocker it's not that versatile Trimble can do a little bit of both but more of a run blocker Ian Thomas run blocker Stefon Sullivan just a pass catcher how now there's versatility in the room there's guys who can block there's guys who can catch are there guys who can block and catch that is kind of the key question in a way heading into this season but not all that important as we're trying to figure out who the four it guess is a little important we're going to figure out who the guys Panthers will end up keeping here as I try to project the 53 man roster and I'm doing this and I'm not even really considering all the numbers of the guys who are going to be kept at the other position groups but just the guest of guys who will make it uh guaranteed roster spot now actually let me bring this up the Bucks last year with canalysis or OC kept four the Seahawks kept three and of course large part of this coaching staff including Pat mcferson come from Seattle and mcferson was his tight end coach last year in Seattle been the tight end Coach there under P for the last 13 Seasons the guys I think who are guaranteed to be on the roster Tommy Trimble to Tavon Sanders roster bubble Ian Thomas but I don't really feel that strong that he won't make the roster and then Stefan Sullivan if they're keeping I think they're probably gonna keep four quite honestly like Jordan Matthews I I don't think he's a practice squad guy I have him listed in the practice squad or just ain't gonna be here category and I think he's just ain't gonna be here so I I wouldn't even really think about him of the five year I do think Trimble Sanders they're obviously they're good Thomas is probably good and then Sullivan I think he I he'll make it I think because of the past relationship he's had in Seattle if he doesn't he'll be a practice squad player so if they're keeping three it's Trimble it's Sanders it's Thomas if they're keeping four it's dribble it's Sanders it's Thomas and then it's Sullivan I don't see Jordan Matthews getting that opportunity this is another position group though where there's two guys who you feel pretty good about being on the roster the other and maybe you feel good about Ian or Stefan but this is a position group where I'm wondering come roster cut down they're going to look across the league See's available on that waiver wire do you add another tight end to this room duck is cheap Canal is is saying that he likes the room thinks a versatile and yada yada y we all look at it we've all seen he hasn't been here he yes he watched the tape last season I'm sure he's maybe I don't know how farb he's watch the tape we we've been here we can watch it you're not dumb football's not that complicated if it was no one wouldn't be the most popular sport in America we can see that this Titan room has been cheeks so adding one player who's a rookie who's not much a blocker I don't think it just overnight is going to completely change the Titan group yeah Tommy trml can get better Ian Thomas is who he is ston Sullivan I don't know how much or how high his ceiling is and Jordan Matthews he's kind of hanging on to a dream which he's already fulfilled the dream which I'm just kind of like go go hang out go chill we'll see I I think that three probably makes the most sense and then go get somebody but all depends on who's available so we'll see how that works out all right that's going to wrap up this edition of the lockon Panthers podcast part of lockon podcast Network host by your truly again youall subscribe or follow show for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast and follow me on Twitter at Julian counsel where I'll be back for the weekly Friday mailbag starting on July 26 once training camp has begun here in Carolina on Wednesday I am back with y'all and we are going to be talking about the Carolina Panthers offensive line we're gonna split up the offensive line this year gonna do offensive tackles on Wednesday then on Friday gonna talk about the guard spots as the Panthers made some two big key additions there they've made a key addition at swing tackle this offseason as well talking offensive tackles on Wednesday talking offensive guards on Friday then next Monday the state of the Carolina Panthers offense will be doing that pod so in the meantime be safe be happy be whole as always and forever keep pounding and I'll talk to youall on Wednesday