A Bigger Question: Left Guard
Just as it was last July, there is a question mark at the top of the LG depth chart – at this time last year, the leaders in the clubhouse appeared to be Moton and Larsen, while Greg Van Roten was ignored for much of the preseason until starting Week 1 and refusing to give up his starting gig for the length of the season.
While Van Roten was the only player to take every snap in 2018, the Panthers likely didn’t pay Daryl Williams more than $7m to be their backup swing tackle – it seems as if Williams would fit in at left guard and Van Roten could resume the backup role he’s had for much of his career. The question is less about talent than it is about health after Williams’ knee surgery that kept him out almost the entirety of last season – if Williams is healthy, this is his spot to lose.
Other Questions: More Depth
While Taylor Hearn and Dennis Daley are – as much as they can be in early July – likely guaranteed roster spots, the Panthers have traditionally kept 10 linemen on the roster. Daley was the Panthers sixth-round pick and can act as a swing tackle or even provide help at guard if necessary and Hearn spent almost all of last season on the practice squad before being elevated to the main roster for the final few games of the season. With the injury history of Williams, Turner and Paradis, it seems almost a foregone conclusion that the Panthers would be wise to carry another lineman for depth – but who?
The Battle: Who Will Earn The Final Spot?
G Dorian Johnson
Between Dillon Gordon, Dorian Johnson, Ian Silberman, Kitt O’Brien, Brandon Greene, Kofi Amichia and Parker Collins, the Panthers will likely find a lineman to make the roster – and if none of them do enough to impress John Matsko in August, they’ll bring someone in just before Week 1 as they did last season with Corey Robinson.
With Hearn, Larsen and Van Roten all able to play multiple interior spots, it might make more sense for the final spot to go to a player that lives on the outside – especially considering that their current group consists of only Moton, two rookies and a player that missed almost all of last season.
The Panthers snatched Gordon, a tackle, off waivers in March when he was waived by the Chiefs after spending all of 2018 on IR with a shoulder injury. The Panthers also signed interior linemen O’Brien and Collins as well as Greene, who played tackle for the Birmingham Iron and split time between tackle and tight end at Alabama, in their first wave of signing former AAF players. Johnson, a guard, spent last season on the practice squad and was drafted in the fourth round with the pick that was traded to Arizona to move up and select Daeshon Hall in 2017.
Last season during training camp, UDFA Brendan Mahon made waves throughout camp, taking snaps with the first and second teams almost as soon as camp began – that may be the case with one of these players, especially as the coaches manage the workload of Turner, Paradis and Williams.
