Deeeeeeeeeep Sleeper: Mitchell Evans - possible TE1 on the Panthers?
As rookie drafts begin to settle down and people are making their way to the first waiver wire bids of the football year, I wanted to highlight someone that you can get for free and may make an impact this year.
Mitchell Evans was drafted in the fifth round last year by Carolina coming out of Notre Dame. To call the TE room crowded would be disingenuous due to the lack of real top end talent, JT Sanders was a promising rookie two years ago and Tommy Tremble is an actual NFL player. Despite his draft capital, Evans managed to carve out a role as a rookie, getting increased playing time as the season went on and Sanders' nagging injury really hampering his ability. The Panthers, like much of the league, increased their usage of 2-TE sets to try and accommodate Bryce's shortcomings and maximize the passing attack despite the lack of passing weapons.
Evans himself was a pretty solid TE prospect who himself was held back from his potential by a nagging injury, but he was still one of the most reliable targets in his final too college seasons posting over 400 yards each.
Evans isn't going to be the next Kittle or Waller, but this is the time of year where we scrape the bottom of the barrel for longshots that could increase in appeal as training camp goes by. The Panthers didn't meaningfully add to the TE room in the draft or the off-season, and their receiving group is still pretty threadbare. We more or less know what Tremble is, and JT Sanders sadly seems to have been sapped of his once-promising abilities. Evans is a complete TE who can both block and catch. It's possible he ascends to the top of the heap and be a larger factor in the passing game. If you can afford a roster spot or are looking for players to add to your watchlist, you could do a lot worse (but still much, much better lol) than Mitchell Evans.
