Kyle Rudolph

With Jeremy Shockey waiting in limbo as an unsigned free agent, Panthers TE Greg Olsen is poised to take his place among the best pass-catching tight ends in the league.

With the Panthers decision not to bring back Shockey, Olsen should be one of Cam Newton’s top targets in the NFL’s fifth-ranked offense last season. Panthers coach Ron Rivera believes Olsen is in the same class as Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham.

“I think he can be right in there with them,” Rivera said. “This will be his first real opportunity to step up and be the guy. You watch him catch footballs, you watch him run routes and you see those traits that he can fit right into that group.”

Along with Jacob Tamme, Jared Cook and Kyle Rudolph, Olsen is one of several high upside TE2-types that should be available in the later rounds.