Carolina Panthers may no longer have gaping hole at tight end

Pretty much since Greg Olsen left, the Carolina Panthers have not had a good tight end. They've tried so many different players, like Ian Thomas, Hayden Hurst, Tommy Tremble, and Ja'Tavion Sanders. Sanders looked promising, but the Panthers still felt it was a position that needed more, so they spent another late draft pick on the position in 2025.

That may have been the best thing they could've done. Sanders remains the starter when he's healthy, but he's still only showing flashes. Meanwhile, rookie Mitchell Evans has quietly been really good. In one metric, he's the best in the entire NFL.

Mitchell Evans leads tight ends in PFF grade

Right now, if you believe PFF's grading scale, there is no better tight end in football than Mitchell Evans. Granted, he has fewer snaps to play than someone like Travis Kelce or Sam LaPorta, but Evans has been nothing short of excellent when on the field.

Don't look now — the Panthers have the highest graded tight end in football. pic.twitter.com/ln7Sz1frJA
— Michael Bell (@avl_mike) October 24, 2025

The Panthers have sprinkled Evans in and out of the lineup to make the most of his talents, which has gone swimmingly so far. He played a lot more when Ja'Tavion Sanders went down, and he's arguably making the case for more playing time.

This may be a case of a player playing well in limited time, and Evans might struggle if he graduated to the every-down tight end. Still, the Panthers clearly have something in Evans. Though PFF grades don't really come with much context, the eye test says he's been a reliable target for Bryce Young and that he blocks pretty well, too.

The ceiling for Evans, as a fifth-round rookie, is not that of a superstar, Pro Bowl tight end, but at least for now, he's experiencing one impressive run. Though not all-inclusive, this list is some of the best tight ends in football this year that haven't graded higher than Evans:

Sam LaPorta
Trey McBride
Dalton Kincaid
Travis Kelce
Brock Bowers
Kyle Pitts

Since the above graphic only goes to 10, it goes without saying that Evans has been graded higher than Jake Ferguson, Mark Andrews, Dallas Goedert, TJ Hockensen, George Kittle, and the rest of the NFL.

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