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The Carolina Panthers have used their third round pick on Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Tommy Tremble, making him the 83rd overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The redshirt sophomore was always expected to be a Day 2 pick, with the only question being which team had a need for a soul-taking blocker on rushing downs who may also snag a few passes.
Tremble forwent his final two seasons of eligibility and it appears to have paid off tonight. His rookie contract will be worth $4.92 million over its four years, with $942.864 coming as a signing bonus, according to OverTheCap.com
TOMMY TREMBLE DRAFT PROFILE
— Notre Dame Football Stats & Analytics (@ND_FB_Analytics) April 19, 2021
A unique prospect in that he wasn't very productive in college but has tantalizing athleticism
He could find the field early given his run-blocking prowess and could be a player that's more productive in the NFL as he gets away from run-heavy ND pic.twitter.com/aIsUaYIgNo
Tremble was a three-star tight end, considered to be the 21st best tight end in the county and the 52nd best player out of Georgia in the 2018 class.
The Panthers have a few other former Irish players, including Troy Pride Jr. and J.J. Jansen. The franchise drafted Pride in 2020, Jimmy Clausen in 2010 and Kinnon Tatum in 1997. Clausen was a second round pick, Tatum was a third round selection (No. 87 overall) and Pride was a fourth round grab.
For more on the Panthers, check out SB Nation’s Cat Scratch Reader.
Tommy Tremble never received a sustained role as a vertical passing option at ND (he can thank Kmet and Mayer for that), but NFL teams took notice of his incredible Pro Day. He's trending up since our last analysis and will likely be a top 5 TE as high as the 3rd round. (8/12) pic.twitter.com/ciONCE10Xn
— Notre Dame Football Stats & Analytics (@ND_FB_Analytics) April 16, 2021
It's going down, we're yelling pic.twitter.com/bXEZpPkdKy
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) May 1, 2021
Congratulations, @TommyTremble, on joining the @Panthers. Big things are ahead for you. #GraduatingChampions pic.twitter.com/Gc2TdGrJxr
— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) May 1, 2021
Tommy Tremble is a 3rd-round+ TE worth investing in
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) May 1, 2021
Athletic upside, developmental receiver who is already a great blocker.
Ian Thomas saw just 31 targets last season, so a huge opportunity might not be there, but Tremble can be a bit of a hybrid.