New Faces, New Hope for Panthers Offensive Line

A year ago, the Carolina Panthers had potentially one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. Well, in pass protection that is.

They finished the 2019 season tied for dead last in sacks allowed alongside the Miami Dolphins who also gave up 58 sacks. It wasn't just the total number of sacks that came across as concerning, but the amount of QB hits (102) was also a sign that the offensive line was having a subpar season.

This offseason, Panthers GM Marty Hurney did some shuffling along the offensive line and traded five-time Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for veteran offensive tackle Russell Okung.

Following the Turner-Okung trade, Carolina signed offensive guard John Miller to a one-year, $4 million deal. Adding Miller in free agency was a huge get after Turner's departure. He totaled 60 starts over five seasons and provided some stability to the Bengals' offensive line in 2019.

In a recent addition to the line, Hurney snatched up offensive guard, Michael Schofield, who started alongside Okung for the Chargers. He has started 37 games over the last three seasons, including starting in every game for back-to-back seasons. Per Pro Football Focus, he only allowed one sack and committed only one penalty throughout the entire 2019 season.

The Panthers know what they're getting with offensive tackle Taylor Moton, but the biggest question mark aside from the newcomers surrounds center Matt Paradis. To be frank, he has not lived up to anywhere near the expectations set out for him since he has arrived from the Broncos. With a pair of newcomers lining up to each side of Paradis, communication is going to be key and if the chemistry between he, Schofield, and Miller doesn't co-exist by the start of the season, it could be another long year in 2020. Fortunately for the Panthers, Okung, Schofield, and Paradis were teammates in Denver in 2016, so that familiarity that exists could help jumpstart the offensive line's production.

Don't expect the offensive line to take a gigantic step in 2020, but there will be vast improvement - it just may not show until we get deeper into the season. Replacing three starters on the offensive line is never easy, and with so much unfamiliarity, Panthers fans will need to be patient with this unit. However, once this group gets clicking, it will make life easier on new starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

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