The Carolina Panthers are unveiling a new formation that you might not have seen before.

Second team offense unveils trips TE formation. — Jon Stout (@JonStout89) July 31, 2016

Trips means just what you think it means . . . three tight ends on the field at once. With the Panthers’ depth at tight end, it’s mouth watering to envision all those playmakers on the field at once.

The top three tight ends so far are obviously Greg Olsen, Ed Dickson and rookie Beau Sandland. All three have made major plays so far in training camp, with Sandland on fire Saturday.

Dickson is more likely to be used as a blocker, while Sandland and Olsen both have the skills to create major mismatches in their routes. Add to that wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and that is a lot of meat for quarterback Cam Newton to hit at any one time.

Given how the Denver Broncos utilized their outside linebackers to reek havoc against Carolina in Super Bowl 50, a trips formation using tight ends could be an effective way to combat that. It’ll force the outside linebackers to choose between coverage or rushing the quarterback, or put the duty on cornerbacks or safeties to cover. Either way, it will stop the pass rush from happening or it’ll be a gross mismatch that Newton should be able to hit quickly before he feels the heat.

For a season of redemption of sorts, that is a brilliant strategy and one that I would expect to see used quite a bit in the 2016 season.