The lack of belief in Panthers freakish weapon is truly mind-boggling

The Carolina Panthers are preparing to enter the 2025 NFL season with a much better set of weapons than they had a year ago, particularly after selecting wide receivers Tetairoa McMillan and Jimmy Horn Jr. as well as tight end Mitchell Evans in the NFL draft.

However, in spite of the addition of Evans and the presence of Ja'Tavion Sanders, there are some who insist that tight end remains a significant area of need for the Panthers.

It begs the question: why is there such a severe lack of belief in Sanders, who may very well be on of the most freakish athletes in the league at his position?

Sanders played in 16 games during his rookie campaign last season, catching 33 passes for 342 yards and a touchdwon. A midseason neck injury definitely sabotaged his stat line. After suffering the injury during a Week 12 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the former fourth-round pick totaled just four catches the rest of the way, and all of them came in Weeks 17 and 18.

So, had it not been for the injury, Sanders probably would have crested 500 receiving yards as a first-year player, which certainly would have put him on the map heading into his sophomore year.

The 22-year-old also put together a couple of terrific campaigns at Texas, racking up over 600 yards in each of his last two seasons with the Longhorns. That included averaging a hefty 15.2 yards per catch during his final year.

Taking all of that into consideration, I'm not buying this line of thinking that tight end is some major hole for the Panthers, especially after they also brought in Evans through the draft last month.

If anything, Sanders should be viewed as a potential breakout player, especially now that the field should be more open for Bryce Young with more targets.