Contrary to belief, Carolina’s just fine at tight end

By Connor Byrne  |   Sunday, May 21, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Carolina Panthers
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Quick, name at least one of the Carolina Panthers' top three tight ends. Not so easy, is it? Well, that doesn't matter to the Panthers' coaching staff, who happen to believe their top trio of tight ends are more than good enough to get the job done. Truthfully, they're probably right. After all, the Panthers' offense isn't one that focuses on throwing many passes to its tight ends.

Now that you've pondered and still can't name any of the Panthers' tight ends, I'll clue you in. Kris Mangum, Mike Seidman and Michael Gaines make up the team's triumvirate. Obviously, none are household names by any stretch of the imagination. Still, they manage to do what they're supposed to, which is block, contribute on special teams and not take foolish, costly penalties.

The 32-year-old Mangum has been a member of the Panthers for his whole career, which dates back to 1997. Quietly, he's been making a difference as a member of the Panthers throughout his time in the league; Mangum's also the second best tight end in franchise history, behind Wesley Walls, who caught 325 passes between '97-2002 with Carolina.

In his eight seasons with the organization, Mangum has pulled in a solid 130 receptions. That only averages to about 16 per season, but it's good enough for an offense that uses its tight ends primarily for blocking. It was different in Walls' days, but offensive coordinator Dan Henning likes to utilize the team's most skilled weapons, instead of having the tight ends catch many passes.

Mangum may not be the most enticing or athletic tight end in the league today, but he has the intangibles that coaching staffs look for: character, leadership, coach-ability and consistency.

Carolina's head coach, John Fox, possesses great traits as well, so he can relate to Mangum. In fact, on a team that has been one of the NFC's best since Fox's arrival four years ago, character might be its best asset. Mangum joins other key Panthers such as Jake Delhomme, Steve Smith, Julius Peppers, Mike Rucker, Dan Morgan and Mike Minter as players with great character. Honestly, the Panthers are among the few teams in the league that lack a disruptive locker room force, unless you count newly acquired receiver Keyshawn Johnson. However, the man formerly known as "Meshawn" has seemingly cleaned up his act.

Throw in Seidman and Gaines, two extra blockers, and the Panthers' top trio is just fine. They also added former Virginia Tech difference-maker Jeff King in the fifth round of last month's draft, so the Panthers seem all set.

For Henning and Fox, all that's needed is blocking, solid special teams play and the occasional catch from this pack of unknowns. The rest of the offense can be left up to Delhomme, Smith, Keyshawn and the running back strength, which runs four deep.

Frankly, that should be good enough to make for an elite, ball-control, big-play offense in '06 for the Panthers, and that spells bad things for the rest of the NFC South.

--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com

Get more on the Carolina Panthers' offense at Realfootball365.com
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