Tight end is one of many positions the Carolina Panthers need to address in next week’s draft. Picking one when there are so many holes to fill on the other side of the ball might seem like a luxury. However, the team needs to add another weapon at this spot to help compensate for the loss of Greg Olsen, regardless of how they feel about Ian Thomas.
Trouble is, this isn’t supposed to be a deep draft class at tight end so it might be hard to pick up a difference-maker. One possible solution would be to address this need before the draft begins with a trade.
According to Michael Lombardi, the Buccaneers are trying to trade O.J. Howard, per Greg Auman at the Athletic.
Lombardi says he was told by a league source that Bucs are trying to trade O.J. Howard: "I think Howard's got a great name, but I think there's an instinctive issue going on. I think he's going to be available." Said he wouldn't be surprised if he's traded next week. (28:30 mark) https://t.co/BtsoLD5Fjv
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) April 15, 2020
Howard has fallen on hard times since he was a first-round pick back in 2017. He caught six touchdown passes as a rookie and five more in 2018. Last season, he scored just once though to go with a medicore 34 catches and 459 receiving yards on 53 targets.
Tampa’s new quarterback Tom Brady has never been shy about freezing out receivers who he doesn’t trust. If Brady doesn’t feel confident in throwing at Howard, it makes sense for the Bucs to try to get what they can for him now. Remember, they still have Cameron Brate on the roster at a reasonable price and he has proven to be more consistent than Howard to this point. They also have plenty of other receiving weapons to lose him without feeling a sting.
The question is if Matt Rhule and the team’s new tight ends coach Brian Angelichio believe they could resurrect a once-promising career. Bruce Arians made some eyebrow-raising remarks about Howard during the season though and if he can’t get Howard to produce then it doesn’t bode well for his future in the NFL.
Then again, he was a first-round pick for a reason and once upon a time the Panthers were showing interested in him – although that was during Dave Gettleman’s time as general manager. Legend has it that Howard was actually No. 2 on the team’s board behind Christian McCaffrey.
If they can get Howard for a Day 3 pick now it would be worth the risk.
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