The NFL draft's best tight end is a Greg Olsen fan. Now he's a potential Panther.

South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst has followed Greg Olsen for a while.

Growing up in Jacksonville, Fla., Hurst rooted for the Miami Hurricanes, where Olsen was a star tight end and became a first-round NFL draft choice.

After an aborted minor-league baseball career, Hurst spent the past three years in Columbia, where he kept a close eye on Olsen and his Carolina Panthers teammates, who were on TV “all the time,” said Hurst.

Could Hurst’s next move be to follow Olsen to Charlotte?

It’s certainly possible for a 24-year-old who’s the consensus pick as the top tight end in the draft.

The Panthers have a need for a backup tight end after Ed Dickson left for Seattle in free agency. And depending on how their contract negotiations go with Olsen, the Panthers could be looking for a starting tight end after the 2018 season.

At least one draft expert — NFL Network analyst and former Panthers scout Bucky Brooks — thinks the Panthers will take Hurst if he’s available at No. 24.

That would be cool with Hurst, who spent about 15 minutes talking with Olsen during Hurst’s pre-draft visit at Bank of America Stadium this month.

“He’s the guy, obviously. There’s no question about that,” Hurst said during a recent phone interview. “But if Carolina did take me, I would love to get in there and pick his brain and learn from him. Learn from one of the greats in the NFL, because he’s been doing it at a high level for a long time.

“I think that would be big in my future career to be able to learn from a guy like that.”

Olsen, 33, told the Observer last week he has no issue with the Panthers drafting a tight end, although the three-time Pro Bowler isn’t letting go of his hold on the starting job.

Olsen said after Chicago drafted him with the 31st overall pick in 2007, Bears tight end Desmond Clark helped him and made him feel welcome. Olsen said he’s tried to do that with the Panthers’ young tight ends and would do the same with a newcomer taken high in the draft as well.

Hurst remembers watching Olsen and retired tight end Jeremy Shockey play at Miami and was aware the two played together in Carolina in 2011 when Cam Newton set the NFL’s rookie passing record.

Hurst, who in 2016 had the most prolific receiving season by a Gamecocks tight end, thinks his game compares favorably with Olsen's and Shockey's.

“I don’t want to put myself up there with Greg, because I think he’s a great tight end. He’s proven in the NFL. He does both things (block and catch) extremely well,” he said. “I hope when I get on a team, I can kind of repeat some of the things both those guys did.”

Brooks, the ex-Panthers college scout, calls Hurst “a polished route runner with strong hands and big-time playmaking skills that set him apart from other prospects at his position.”

Hurst (6-4, 250) made pre-draft visits to five teams: Carolina, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Miami and Detroit. The Jaguars had Hurst run a few routes, while the Saints put him through a private workout.

Hurst’s trip to Charlotte was part of the Panthers’ local pro day, during which he met head coach Ron Rivera, general manager Marty Hurney and Olsen.

Before his trip to Charlotte, Hurst sat down with Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner and tight ends coach Pete Hoener at the combine in Indianapolis.

“I know how they use the tight end, and I’d love to be a part of that offense,” Hurst said.

But Olsen cautioned Hurst not to get caught up in trying to figure out what team will pick him.

“(Olsen) thought going through the process (one of) two teams would pick him, and then all of a sudden on draft day a random team called and said, ‘We picked (you) up at 31.’ He didn’t talk to Chicago at all. He didn’t know the coaches,” Hurst said.

“He said you really don’t know until you get the phone call, so don’t freak out. Just try to enjoy the process as much as you can and control what you can control.”

Hurst is planning a “low-key” draft night at his parents’ house in Jacksonville, although he and his agent agreed to let ESPN bring in a camera crew.

With a nod to Olsen’s advice, Hurst laughed when a reporter asked whether he thought the Panthers would pick him.

“I’d like to say yes. They showed me interest. They think I’m the top tight end coming out,” he said. “But with all that said, I guess I won’t really know until somebody calls me on Thursday.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2018 at 11:36 PM with the headline "The NFL draft's best tight end is a Greg Olsen fan. Now he's a potential Panther.."