Greg Olsen: How Carolina Panthers Scored Big by Trading for the Chicago Bears TE

It was 2007 when I first saw Greg Olsen. A 6’5” passing tight end out of the U (Miami, Fl.), I thought he was the next big thing for the Carolina Panthers. They even traded back to No. 26, but they drafted some guy named Jon Beason, so I guess it was a good move.

Now, in 2011, Olsen is sent to the Panthers as they get the best of both worlds from that 2007 draft. The Chicago Bears traded Olsen for a player to be named later and a draft pick.

Olsen’s best year was 2009 where he finished the year with 612 yards and eight touchdowns. Then Mike Martz, offensive coordinator, finally implemented his system and Olsen was not the same.

It is fine now, as Olsen will be heading to a team desperate for a prime-time tight end, exactly what Olsen is. He is 6’5”, 255 and he is only 26 years old. Even better is that he was one of now offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski’s Miami products.

Now he returns to Coach Chud without leaving the South. He will come in and join three other tight ends, two of which are recent free-agent signings. He will immediately compete for the starting job with Jeremy Shockey. Any way it is looked at, the Carolina Panthers will have a real tight end and not just a sixth blocker.

Olsen is a Pro Bowl-caliber player, and the Panthers are probably getting him at a garage sale type of price. The Panthers are making a splash this offseason, and they are showing that 2010 is about to be a distant memory.