Chemistry between QB Cam Newton, tight end Greg Olsen adds jolt to Panthers’ offense

Since Cam Newton entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in 2011, the Panthers’ quarterback has completed nearly 1,300 passes.

Tight end Greg Olsen has been on the receiving end of nearly a quarter of them.

As the Panthers’ undefeated season rolls on into Week 11, it’s difficult to overstate what the chemistry between Newton and Olsen has meant to an offense that lost No. 1 wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a season-ending knee injury in training camp.

“Obviously, we have completed a lot of passes over the years,” Olsen said. “We have a pretty good feel for what each other is looking for and we see things through the same set of eyes a lot of times.”

Entering this week’s game against Washington (4-5), Olsen is the Panthers’ leading receiver and ranks among the top pass-catching tight ends in the NFL.

Olsen, who arrived in Carolina three months after Newton via a trade with Chicago, needs nine catches and 32 receiving yards Sunday against Washington to surpass Wesley Walls as the most prolific receiving tight end in Panthers history.

Steve Smith was Newton’s favorite target during Newton’s first two years in the league. But Olsen led the team in receptions in 2013 and again last season after Smith was cut and signed with Baltimore.

Olsen and Benjamin both finished with 1,008 receiving yards in 2014, when Olsen went to his first Pro Bowl. And without a true No. 1 wideout to replace Benjamin, most observers and fantasy owners expected Olsen to have another big year this season.

Olsen hasn’t disappointed.

More than halfway through the season, Olsen is on pace to finish with 80 catches and more than 1,000 yards for the second year in a row.

Olsen’s always had soft hands, but he’s increasingly shown a knack for coming down with one-handed catches.

In the second half of the 27-10 victory against the Titans, Olsen reached back on a sideline route and snared a Newton pass with one hand for the second week in a row.

A GIF of the play drew more than 800 likes on the Panthers’ official Twitter account, and prompted some to compare Olsen to Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

“It was just a reaction to the situation. You don’t ever intend on going out there and trying to catch it with one hand,” Olsen said. “Sometimes you just have to react to the situation and try to make the catch any way you have to.”

But Newton said the play wasn’t by accident. Like Beckham in pre-game warmups, Olsen practices one-handed snags during the week.

“Coach (Ron Rivera) always talks about letting practice carry over to the game and making practice game-like, and things like that make you a believer of it,” Newton said. “You see Greg, one of the first of a few players that’s out there (early) and late, working on catching. He’s a veteran that’s been in the league a long time and having great habits like that carry over, and you see why.”

Newton started out hot against the Titans, completing his first 11 passes to tie his personal best for consecutive completions in a game. The first four completions went to Olsen, who said a dialed-in Newton made catching easy in Nashville.

The rapport between Olsen and Newton was obvious after the game, as well. Newton said Olsen found him on the sideline and let Newton know he’d failed to get him the ball a couple of times.

“He was teasing. He was wide-open a couple of plays, and said, ‘I don’t think they put me in the game plan,’” Newton recalled. “I said, ‘OK buddy, I’m going to still keep giving you the ball – or whoever the ball if the play allows me or the read takes me there.’”

Olsen also isn’t afraid to joke on himself.

While his five touchdowns this season are the third-most among tight ends, Olsen has been stopped near the goal line on a couple of occasions, including Sunday in Nashville.

“I said this before that if the goal line was at the 1, I’d probably be leading the NFL in touchdowns,” Olsen said. “It doesn’t start at the 1, unfortunately.”

Still, Olsen is the only active NFL tight end with five or more touchdown catches every season since 2008. So he was happy to share the wealth with backup tight end Ed Dickson, who scored on a 1-yard pass from Newton after Olsen was stopped at the 1.

“I was glad. The next play Ed got his first touchdown of the year, so I was happy for that,” Olsen said. “I don’t really get too wrapped up in stats.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Chemistry between QB Cam Newton, tight end Greg Olsen adds jolt to Panthers’ offense."