New York Jets 2021 schedule: Top 5 favorable defensive mismatches

After signing a three-year, $13.5 million deal with $6 million guaranteed, former New York Jets guard Pat Elflein is the favorite to start at left guard for Carolina. Elflein started six games at left guard for the Jets in the latter half of the 2020 season after he was released by the Vikings. Elflein has been a poor pass protector throughout the course of his career. He has given up 121 pressures over 1,959 pass-blocking snaps, a rate of 6.2% that is well above the 2020 league average for guards (4.5%). In 2020, Elflein yielded 24 pressures over 239 pass-blocking snaps, a rate of 10.0% that was the worst among 80 qualified guards. He was the worst by a wide margin, too – 79th-ranked Shane Lemieux (a rookie) had a rate of 8.4%. The 1.6% gap between Elflein and Lemieux is equal to the gap between Lemieux and 71st-ranked Brian Winters (6.8%). Should Elflein win the Panthers’ left guard job, he will see a ton of former teammate Quinnen Williams, who is one of the best right-side defensive tackles in the league