2025 NFL draft: Panthers projected to land elite tight end prospect in Round 2

The Panthers should be looking to glow up their tight end unit.

Jan 29, 2025; Mobile, AL, USA; National team tight end Harold Fannin Jr. of Bowling Green (44) talks with media members after Senior Bowl practice at Hancock Whitney Stadium. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers definitely have to address their wide receiver corps at some point this offseason - and at this late juncture in free agency the draft is now their best hope at landing an uprade or two. While the WR room has to take precedence, the Panthers should also be looking to glow up their tight end unit.

With Ian Thomas having joined the Las Vegas Raiders, there's room at the top of the tight end rotation for a real playmaker. It's possible that 2024 fourth-round draft pick Ja'Tavion Sanders can fill that role, but it's far from a guarantee.

No matter how much they may like Sanders, the Panthers front office should plan to take advantage of a deep and strong class of prospects at tight end. In a new three-round mock draft from CBS Sports, they get one of the best in Harold Fannin Jr. from Bowling Green, who goes to Carolina in the second round at No. 57 overall.

Unlike Tommy Tremble and practically every other tight end they've brought in since Greg Olsen left, Fannin is less of a blocker and more of a genuine pass-catching threat who could make a real difference for the Panthers' passing game as early as Week 1.

Fannin (6-foot-3, 241 pounds) is ranked third among this year's tight end prospects behind Penn State's Tyler Warren and Michigan's Colston Loveland. He's coming off a breakout Senior season, having totaled 117 catches, 1,555 yards and 10 touchdowns. Here are the highlights.

If Fannin does get drafted by the Panthers he should project as their starting tight end, but he may have to battle his way past Tremble over the summer to get there.

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