Panthers star Robert Hunt takes random shot at PFF at first Pro Bowl

With Philadelphia Eagles left guard Landon Dickerson busy preparing for the Super Bowl, the Carolina Panthers have sent right guard Robert Hunt to the Pro Bowl in his place. For Hunt it's the first time that he's earned Pro Bowl honors in his NFL career, split between four years with the Miami Dolphins and one with the Panthers.

Hunt is pretty far from a household name, but he has made an enormous positive impact for Carolina's much-improved offensive line. Last year they allowed a rookie Bryce Young to get sacked 62 times. This year that number was down to just 29. While Young himself deserves a lot of the credit for that improvement, his pass protection was far more reliable in 2024.

The Panthers were collectively also much better at run blocking, and Hunt was the biggest part of that surge.

Hunt knows that offensive linemen do the dirty work and tend to fly under the radar, but he apparently agrees with Dion Dawkins' idea that there should be an Offensive Lineman of the Year award. When he was asked about it down in Orlando, Hunt said he agreed with Dawkins, and he also took a random shot at Pro Football Focus. Watch.

Robert Hunt on OLOY, PFF

Rob Hunt on Dion Dawkins pitching an Offensive Lineman of the Year. When asked why he thinks the NFL doesn't have that category. "We're not a pretty group." @TheBigLead #ProBowlGames pic.twitter.com/z3RO6RHAB1
— James Brizuela (@james_brizuela) February 1, 2025

A revealing and interesting turn, there. For the season, Pro Football Focus graded Hunt out at 67.7 overall, which is down almost 10 points from the 2023 campaign. That grade ranked Hunt 24th at his position, notably 12 spots lower than left guard Damien Lewis (75.7 overall).

The reason seems to be bad grades in pass blocking. While Hunt's grades started out the year very strong, PFF began giving him progressively worse marks in this department around Week 7. With only one exception (Week 17 against Arizona) they gave Hunt either atrocious or barely above average pass blocking grades in each game for the rest of the season.

Clearly Hunt disagrees with their assessment. In the end Hunt earned a 57.5 grade in pass blocking, compared to 72.0 in run blocking. That's what brought down his overall grade. PFF has Hunt credited for five sacks allowed, five penalties, eight QB hits and 36 pressures.

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