What About the Panthers Offensive Line?
In case anybody needed a reminder, here's a list of players drafted by the Panthers this year: DL Derrick Brown (Auburn), EDGE Yetur Gross-Matos (Penn State), S Jeremy Chinn (S. Illinois), CB Troy Pride Jr. (Notre Dame), S Kenny Robinson (West Virginia/XFL), DL Bravvion Roy (Baylor), and CB Stanley Thomas-Oliver (Florida International)
Matt Rhule obviously prioritized the defense in the draft. While this is understandable, there is a still a position group that desperately needs help, and that's the Panthers offensive line. Even though the Panthers seemingly performed well in this year's NFL Draft, the offensive line is still seemingly lacking across the board. See my position review on the offensive line here to see where it currently stands.
The Panthers signed four offensive linemen as undrafted free agents: Sam Tecklenburg (Baylor), Brandon Bowen (Ohio State), Mike Horton (Auburn), and Frederick Mauigoa (Washington State).
While either of these four could emerge as a quality lineman for years to come, the statistics aren't in their favor. It wouldn't be surprising if none of these four touched the field on Sundays in 2020.
For now, the projected starting offensive line consists of Russell Okung, John Miller, Matt Paradis, Dennis Daley, and Taylor Moton. Second-year offensive lineman Greg Little could also emerge as a starter for the Panthers this season. On paper, this lineup doesn't seem that impressive, especially considering the fact that the Panthers just invested a lot of money into its backfield with Teddy Bridgewater and Christian McCaffrey.
These two need quality play from the line if the Panthers expect to win games. This year's offensive line could prove me wrong under new offensive coordinator Joe Brady's new system. However, as of right now, the feeling is rather pessimistic when it comes to the offensive side of the line of scrimmage.
As of now, Russell Okung seems like a lock at one of the tackle positions. However, the other tackle spot is a question mark at the moment with second-year Dennis Daley. Paradis is likely to continue starting at center, but he struggled last year. Miller will likely start at guard, but even his performance on the field last year seemed unconvincing. Greg Little and Taylor Moton have shown that they can play multiple positions on the line based on their performances in 2019, so expect for them to make some starts as well.
The entire line needs depth at every position. This unit is still mostly young, so having development with solid backups (which could be the role of the UDFA's) would be the right call to make. However, can any of the undrafted free agents be dependable if a starter goes down on Sundays? It doesn't seem realistic right now. Unfortunately, it seems like there will be more players who will have to learn multiple positions this year as a result of a lack of appropriate depth. We'll see if GM Marty Hurney makes any more moves in free agency to improve this position group.
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