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Buccaneers NFC South position rankings: Tight ends

By Michael Horan

GREEN BAY, WI - DECEMBER 03: Cameron Brate #84 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the second half at Lambeau Field on December 3, 2017 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WI - DECEMBER 03: Cameron Brate #84 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the second half at Lambeau Field on December 3, 2017 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 17: Greg Olsen #88 of the Carolina Panthers catches a touchdown pass against the Green Bay Packers in the third quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 17, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 17: Greg Olsen #88 of the Carolina Panthers catches a touchdown pass against the Green Bay Packers in the third quarter during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 17, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers are fortunate to have one of the NFLs most complete tight ends in Greg Olsen. The Panthers acquired Olsen from the Bears back in 2011 and since then he has been a consistent weapon in an offense sorely lacking consistency. Discounting the 2017 season in which Olsen missed most of the season with a foot injury, the University of Miami tight end has had at least 800 yards receiving in every season since 2012. In three of those seasons he had 1000 yards receiving, which is a tremendous feat for a tight end.

Consistency is the name of the game for Olsen. Before he broke his foot last season Olsen hadn’t missed a start since his rookie season. That’s right: nine seasons, no missed starts. This combined with his sure hands, consistent routes and strong blocking makes Olsen as complete a tight end as you’ll find in the league. Even at age 33 in an injury-plagued season Olsen still showed he’s got a lot left in the tank, recording eight catches for 100 yards and a touchdown in the Panthers’ playoff game against New Orleans.

Behind Olsen however the Panthers are a bit suspect. Their other tight ends are practically buried under the radar and have yet to make any impact in the league. Evan Baylis, Chris Manhertz, Ian Thomas and Jason Vander Laan make up Olsen’s back-ups, so the Panthers are really banking on 2017 being an aberration for the veteran.

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