Panthers’ Robert Hunt Earns Praise More Deserved by Damien Lewis

Carolina Panthers guard Damien Lewis should have replaced fellow guard Robert Hunt on ESPN's list of the best interior offensive linemen in the NFL.

Carolina Panthers guard Damien Lewis. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

ESPN has put out its interior offensive linemen rankings based on the opinions of NFL executives, scouts and coaches and Carolina Panthers guard Damien Lewis was snubbed.

While no Panthers landed in the top 10 of the rankings, Robert Hunt did make it into the honorable mentions, but there was no mention of Lewis at all.

"He's not in the elite group, but as a run-game mauler, there aren't many better. He just wasn't healthy last year," an NFC scout who was polled said of Hunt.

Hunt was a Pro Bowler for the Panthers in 2024 and that rightly landed him in the honorable mention category in 2025. However, Hunt only played in two games last season due to injury and one would've assumed that would knock him out of the honorable mention section.

Now, that's not to say Hunt's injury-plagued season should erase the respect he has garnered during his career, but there's zero doubt Lewis deserved the recognition more for this particular year.

While Hunt was injured, Lewis put together an impressive season. According to Pro Football Focus, he gave up just one sack and 14 pressures and posted grades of 73.1 in run-blocking and 78.5 in pass-blocking, ranking 14th and third among guards.

“He’s been really committed to the fundamentals — keeping good pad level. He’s got natural leverage. He’s a 6’3” guy. He’s not a 6’5” guy," head coach Dave Canales said of Lewis last season. "But just improving his fundamentals, I think, is one of the biggest pieces why he’s playing so well right now.”

At the very least, Lewis should have been in the "also receiving votes" category, but an argument can certainly be made for putting him in an honorable mention or top-10 spot.

This is just another example for why Lewis is one of the most underrated guards in the entire league.

If Hunt can stay healthy this season and Lewis can keep playing at a high level, the duo could be the NFL's best at guard in 2026.