Ekwonu Will Have Biggest Jump of Any Second-Year Offensive Player

Carolina's 2022 draft class might be one that fans will end up wanting to forget about a few years down the road.

Seventh-round pick Kalon Barnes is already off the team, sixth-rounders LB Amare Barno and OL Cade Mays look to be career backups, the jury is still out on fourth round LB Brandon Smith, and QB Matt Corral has no chance of being the face of the franchise with Bryce Young in the mix.

However, they did hit on their first-round pick, left tackle Ikem Ekwonu. It wasn't necessarily a smooth transition to the NFL for the former NC State product but in his defense, he had some challenging matchups at the beginning of the season. Most notably in his debut against Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns.

During OTAs and mandatory minicamp, Ekwonu looked the part as a franchise left tackle. Yes, they were in helmets and shorts, I get it. But he played with confidence, gave some pointers to younger guys, and just appeared to be moving around better. I'm sure a lot of that is actually knowing what to do and playing at full speed rather than second guessing as a rookie, playing with some level of hesitation.

Oftentimes, NFL teams will go out and draft their "future" at quarterback before putting together a strong offensive line to protect him. The Panthers did it the right way by building up front first, giving Bryce Young a top-half of the league unit to work behind.

Ickey, in my opinion, will have the biggest jump of any second-year player on the offensive side of the ball in the entire league. Ekwonu working with well-respected OL coach James Campen for over a year gives me the confidence in making that statement.

"Boy, he's really grown," Campen said last month. "I tell you and I know he wouldn't mind me saying this but the big thing is they were really run-oriented and jump-setting at NC State and teaching him how to vertical pass set at this level, he struggled for a few weeks. We got to about the middle of training camp and he started to figure things out. He is so far ahead of where he was last year and it's a testament to him. He's done work in the offseason before coming back and being in this environment with phase one, phase two. He's setting on the line, he's fluid. He's asking for change-up things to do with his hands, so he's way ahead of where he was last year."

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