Matt Rhule Made a Bold Statement About Brady Christensen
Brady Christensen hasn't had a set position since coming to the Carolina Panthers in 2021. He started at right tackle, then kicked inside to guard before ultimately finishing the final three games of his rookie season at left tackle.
Once the Panthers selected NC State's Ikem Ekwonu with the sixth overall pick, the assumption was that Christensen would just slide inside to left guard. However, playing left tackle is not completely out of the cards for the second-year offensive lineman out of BYU heading into training camp.
"Brady's played left guard, left tackle," head coach Matt Rhule said on Thursday. "We talked about playing him at center at one point too but we felt like for his development, two positions seemed like it was the right amount."
When asked who would take the first-team reps at left tackle at the start of training camp, Rhule said that they're unsure of that at the moment. He did note, though, that Christensen is turning into a very quality player.
"I don't know if we know that yet. Brady or [Ikem Ekwonu]. Campen has done a good job of mixing that up. We try to do a really good job of not getting caught up in hey, you're the one, you're the two. Players probably get caught up in that and everyone else, but Campen does a good job of mixing combinations. I just know that Brady is one of our better players on the team, not just on the offensive line. It's about finding the right spot for him, but letting those other guys compete as well."
Ideally, if you take an offensive tackle at six, you want him to stick at tackle. Ekwonu does have experience playing left guard as well and with Christensen already having a year under his belt it may not be unrealistic to think that's how the two could line up in 2022. Regardless of who plays where, if Christensen can live up to the hype of being one of the "better players on the team" and Ekwonu proves to be a future Pro Bowl-caliber player, the Panthers offensive line will have a much different feel to it in 2022 and beyond.
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