The Carolina Panthers were far from good in 2024, posting a 5-12 record and finishing tied for last in the NFC South.
However, that was a marked improvement over 2023, when the team went 2-15 and “earned” the first overall pick in the draft, only to surrender it to the Chicago Bears due to the Bryce Young trade from a year prior.
In the first year of the Young-Dave Canales pairing, Carolina ranked 23rd in points per game (20.1) and 29th in yards per game (298.0) on offense. Bad? Yes. A notable improvement over 2023 when they finished dead last in both categories? Also yes.
With Young established as the quarterback of the future after returning with a vengeance following his mid-season benching, the team now needs to provide him with the weapons to help him flourish.
Though they’ve failed to do that so far this offseason — running back Rico Dowdle is the only notable skill-position player they’ve signed in free agency thus far — the Panthers did make a tantalizing (if not eminently questionable) move for a high-upside tight end… that hasn’t played football since he was in the eighth grade.
Carolina Panthers Sign Coastal Carolina Basketball Star As Tight End Project
It’s not all that unusual for basketball stars to become prodigious NFL players. In fact, some of the best tight ends of all time, including Jimmy Graham (Miami), Antonio Gates (Kent State), and Tony Gonzales (California), all starred in college basketball before becoming Pro Bowlers.
Well, the Panthers are going to try that experiment in 2025, though their prospect doesn’t quite have the football background that triumvirate of tight ends legends did.
Unless you’re a big Sun Belt basketball fan, you’re probably not too familiar with Colin Granger, the center on Coastal Carolina’s 2024-25 men’s basketball team. You should start getting to know him, though, as the Panthers signed Granger on the recommendation of another successful basketball convert, George Fant, according to an ESPN report.
Canales and Panthers general manager Dan Morgan were with the Seattle Seahawks when the team chose to sign Fant as an undrafted free agent. Despite playing just one season of college football (compared to four years in basketball), Fant successfully transitioned into being an offensive tackle in the NFL.
Like Fant, Granger has tremendous size, as he’s listed at 6’8″ and nearly 250 pounds. Though he never posted prodigious stats in college, he did average 4.4 rebounds per game last season.
His basketball background should serve him well as both a blocker and short-area receiver, given his naturally fluid footwork and ability to box out smaller defenders. His best chance at making an immediate impact on Carolina will be as a big-bodied red zone threat for the diminutive Young.
He will compete for playing time with the recently re-signed Tommy Tremble, as well as Ja’Tavion Sanders, Jordan Matthews, James Mitchell and Dominique Dafney. It’s a longshot, but perhaps Granger can become the next college basketball star to successfully transition to tight end in the NFL.