It hasn't been all bad, but the pass protection woes of second-year left tackle Ikem Ekwonu have become a major concern for the Carolina Panthers in recent weeks. At first, it felt like a sophomore slump but it's turned into a season-long issue.
Ekwonu played both guard and tackle during his college days at NC State and some around the NFL believed he would project better at guard due to his run blocking ability. In the ground game, he's a mauler. In pass protection, it's an adventure. Sometimes he gets put on skates in one on ones while looking lost and confused when opposing fronts go to their twist game.
Many of his weaknesses were hidden in the back half of his rookie campaign when the team flipped its approach to a downhill, run heavy attack. In the first month of the season when Matt Rhule was still the head coach and they ran more of a spread offense, he had some trouble in pass pro. It was, however, unfair to judge him at the time given that he was a rookie going up against some premier pass rushers in his first handful of games, but there's enough of a sample size now to be worried.
Carolina has no choice but to address the offensive line this offseason and kicking Ekwonu inside to guard has to be on the table. Personally, I don't care if you draft a lineman in the top ten and he ends up at guard. If that's where he excels and reaches his full potential, who cares? The objective is to keep Bryce Young, the face of your franchise, healthy. Throwing Ekwonu back out there at left tackle in 2024 to protect Young's blindside is a huge gamble. If there is a proven commodity out there that fits the new staff's scheme, spend the money. If there isn't, you give Ekwonu one more year to fight out of it and prove himself.
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