Can Ian Thomas become the first productive tight end the Panthers have ever drafted?

The Carolina Panthers have never drafted a productive receiving tight end in franchise history. Let’s hope Ian Thomas can reverse the curse. With data taken from Football Reference Carolina Panthers T-Shirt , here are the abysmal receiving stats for the nine tight ends Carolina has drafted prior to selecting Thomas in the fourth round this year.Career receiving yards of tight ends drafted by the PanthersYearRoundPlayerGamesReceptionsRec YdsRec/GRec Yds/GTDYearRoundPlayerGamesReceptionsRec YdsRec/GRec Yds/GTDBelieve it or not, but the Panthers have never drafted a tight end who went on to average at least 1.5 receptions or 20 receiving yards per game throughout his career. Gary Barnidge is the most productive receiving tight end Carolina has ever drafted, but he’s an oddity because nearly half of his career yards came in his improbable 2015 Pro Bowl season when he registered 1,043 of his total 2,258 yards. He was 30, playing for the Browns, and entering his eighth NFL season. His previous career high before his 1,000-plus yard campaign was just 242 yards. Can we get a 30 for 30 or an Outside the Lines on Gary Barnidge’s miraculous 2015 Pro Bowl season Carolina Panthers Hats , please? While the nine tight ends drafted since the Carolina’s founding in 1995 might seem like a low number, it’s right in line with the rest of the NFC South. In that same time frame the Saints have drafted six tight ends, the Falcons have drafted eight,and the Buccaneers have drafted 13, but seven of them were sixth- and seventh-round picks. Carolina’s history using tight endsThe lack of production from tight ends the Panthers have drafted shouldn’t be viewed as some sort of team bias against featuring the position in the passing game. Wesley Walls joined the Panthers in 1996 after six years with the 49ers and Saints. Walls went on to play seven seasons in Carolina (1996-2002) and make five Pro Bowl teams. During his seven seasons in Carolina his 3,902 receiving yards trailed only Shannon Sharpe, Tony Gonzalez, and Frank Wycheck among tight ends Carolina Panthers Hoodie , per Football Reference. We all know how dominant Greg Olsen has been as a receiver since joining the Panthers from the Bears in 2011. No need to explain further. While Walls and Olsen have been among the NFL’s most productive tight ends in their respective eras, neither of them was drafted by the Panthers. The hope for Ian ThomasAs CSR’s Billy Marshall highlighted after the draft, Ian Thomas is raw and athletic. In his two seasons at Indiana he caught a total of 28 passes for 404 yards and five touchdowns so the Panthers are clearly gambling on his upside. Despite his lack of college production the rookie earned praise from Luke Kuechly for his effort at training camp:In the Panthers first preseason game against the Bills he recorded just one reception for two yards. He had the opportunity for a longer reception but couldn’t get both feet down before going out of bounds, which shouldn’t be surprising in light of his limited experience. The good news for Thomas and the Panthers is he won’t be expected to contribute immediately while playing behind Greg Olsen. Ian will have plenty of time to learn from one of the all-time greats over the next few years. But at some point in the future Olsen will retire (or get injured, knock on wood) and the Panthers will need Ian Thomas to step in and step up. Let’s hope he can become the first productive tight end the Panthers have ever drafted.Former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson fined $2.75 million after NFL announces findings of workplace misconduct investigation The news broke via a league statement that the NFL had finally concluded its investigation of former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson.It’s a lot to unpack, but here are the bullet points.The reported allegations were highlighted, however there were other allegations considered that were not of public record. The report was not intended to confirm or reject details, but it did substantiate some of the claims made.The improper conduct in this investigation was limited to Jerry Richardson Customized Carolina Panthers Jerseys , meaning the resignation of Curtis Fuller was not directly because of this investigation.Neither Richardson nor the organization reported to the NFL the claims or the non-public agreements to resolve said claims.Nearly all of the proceeds from this fine will go to organizations addressing race and gender-based transgressions.The organization has since developed a strict handling of workplace misconduct and sexual assault claims, as well as adding outside agencies to help with training the employees.Mary Jo White also recommended several things to the league as a whole; the establishment of a specific prohibition against non disclosure agreements, a specific requirement to report workplace misconduct to the League Office, establish a confidential hotline for employees to report these transgressions, and review best practices.The Panthers have released an official statement regarding the matter:My TakeI think I can speak on behalf of all of the CSR staff and say thank you to White for a very targeted and thorough investigation. It truly rocked many of us to see the head of the organization accused of these things, and I’m hoping some of the victims can find some closure and see justice was done. The recommendations should be applied league wide, I see no question of that and any push back by owners should be met with criticism.As for the amount... I mean. Jerry Richardson just sold the team for $2.275 billion dollars. That’s a drop in the bucket. I’m not an expert on what the NFL regards as fair punishment here, but the league was fining Marshawn Lynch $100k for REFUSING TO TALK TO THE MEDIA. Oh www.authenticscarolinapanthers.com , and not to mention the $1+ million fines for PEDs, such as the one Thomas Davis received for a substance that reportedly had never been an illegal substance before.Regardless of that, I’m glad the NFL is making moves to prevent this from happening in the future. Nobody deserves to be sexually assaulted or racially discriminated against, especially not at their place of work. Not in 2018. Not ever.