The Carolina Panthers took a flyer on the 32 year old former wide receiver turned tight end Jordan Matthews this offseason to help fill the void left by injuries to the other tight ends on the roster. With tight ends Tommy Tremble dealing with a hamstring and Ian Thomas dealing with a calf injury, the only tight end left to practice was rookie 4th round pick Ja’Tavion Sanders. The Panthers signed Matthews and were very impressed by what they saw. Matthews was originally drafted as a wide receiver by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL out of Vanderbilt. Matthews had a good first three seasons in Philly averaging 75 catches, 891 yards and 6 receiving touchdowns. The Eagles ended up trading Matthews to the Buffalo Bills and he ended up suffering a couple of injuries that landed him on season ending IR. Since then Matthews has struggled to land with a team due to more injuries, he bounced around a few teams without ever getting much playing time. It was after the 2020 season that Matthews reworked his body into switching to the tight end position. The Panthers are the first team that has valued Matthews at tight end, and it showed when he played with the starters on offense in the last preseason game. This was the only drive the Panthers 1st team offense played all preseason and it ended with a touchdown to Matthews from second year quarterback Bryce Young. Matthews may finally be getting his chance to regain some of his former receiving glory.

Jordan Matthews may be a decent late round flyer at tight end in drafts. The top two options at tight end in Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble are still dealing with their injuries. This opportunity may be short lived but this offense cannot be any worse than it was last season. Head coach Dave Canales is a quarterback guru who should cater this offense to fit Bryce Young’s skillset better than whatever that offense was from last season was. If the risk is too high for a late round flyer, Matthews may be decent wavier wire pickup after the first few games if he develops a connection with Young.