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The left tackle spot was a point of contention for many Panther fans for a while, but the position looks to be locked down for the foreseeable future.
Ikem Ekwonu, who the team drafted with the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, is coming off a really solid rookie season for the team that has many dreaming of a breakout second season for him. He played and started all 17 games for the Panthers a year ago at the left tackle spot, facing some of the best pass rushers in the league to begin his career.
In the four weeks of the season, he faced Myles Garrett, Cam Jordan and JJ Watt, making an already steep learning curve even tougher to navigate. After allowing ten pressures in the first four weeks, Ekwonu allowed 17 the rest of the year. He finished the season with a 65.3 overall grade last season according to Pro Football Focus, a 64.0 run block rating and a 67.5 pass block rating. Ekwonu easily graded out as the best offensive tackle from last year’s draft class and showed the most growth as the season went along.
Earlier today, Ekwonu sat down with Wes & Walker who were live from Panthers training camp following the first day in pads. He discussed many different things, but the main thing was about where he feels he is at after all that he learned as a rookie.
