Understandably, what the Panthers do at offensive tackle has got a lot of focus so far this offseason, and while this is an area the Panthers could focus on early in the draft, they aren’t exactly secure long-term on the interior offensive line either. Matt Paradis played well in 2020 but is entering the final year of his contract, and while Pat Elflein signed, and John Miller resigned neither of these are sure-fire starting options for 2021 let alone the long-term.
Dennis Daley does have a chance to finally secure a long-term starting role after flashing as a rookie before missing most of 2020, but he is the only interior offensive linemen with playing experience under the age of 25 and can play, at most, just one of the three interior offensive line positions at a time.
While the Panthers probably won’t look to address this need with their first pick, this is definitely an area that the Panthers will be keen to add to at some point in the draft. So, with this in mind, who are some prospects the Panthers could target at different points in the draft?
Alijah Vera-Tucker, USC (6’5 308lbs)
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 07: USC Trojans guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (75) during a college football game between the Stanford Cardinal and the USC Trojans on September 07, 2019, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA (Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Vera-Tucker played both guard and tackle at USC, and while there might be some teams who see him as a tackle, he is likely going to be best moving back inside at the NFL level. For the Panthers, he will probably only be an option if they trade back in the draft, as he is expected to be selected in the second half of the first round, but with the trade for Sam Darnold the chance that the Panthers do move back has likely increased and should this indeed happen then Vera-Tucker should be a player they consider.
For a guard, Vera-Tucker has very good foot speed to cover laterally in pass protection and, while he might not have the power to drive defenders off the ball in the run game, he shows the footwork to create rushing lanes directionally which should suit what the Panthers seem to be looking to do offensively. He shows the ability to play with good pad level, and while this could be a bit inconsistent it will likely be helped by a move to guard where he isn’t put under quite as much pressure in terms of foot speed.
In terms of hand usage, he can be a bit frenetic at times, and when his pad level was forced up by speed rushers, he tended to counter with wide arms that exposed his frame. However, while he does need to play with more consistency in this regard, he shows good hand placement and flashes of nice arm extension.
Vera-Tucker stands a very good chance of being the first interior offensive linemen drafted and would likely need to be the first Panthers selection if they do want to secure his services, even if not with the eighth pick. While this would be quite rich for a guard, he has a chance to be one of the best at the position in the NFL and his movement skills and agility would be a good fit for the Panthers, with an outside chance he could play tackle down the road.
Michal Menet, Penn State (6’4 301lbs)
Photo Credit: Penn State Athletics
While the Panthers will hope to find players who are able to come in and compete to start right away, the Panthers also need to continue to add quality depth to the offensive line, and with Matt Paradis entering the final year of his contract and Pat Elflein something of a question mark in terms of being a quality starter at the NFL level, the Panthers would likely want to add further options at center in an ideal world. Menet might not be the flashiest athlete in the world, but he is one of the more polished blockers in this year’s class.
Menet isn’t going to wow people with his power or his ability to fly out on screen to make blocks on safeties down the field, but he is a solid athlete who can cover ground laterally and has enough power to get the job done in the run game. In pass protection, he could stand to improve his knee bend slightly which would also help the consistency of his arm extension but uses his hands well to secure blocks and does a good job of keeping his weight over his feet.
As a run blocker, he shows really nice footwork to create rushing lanes and is consistently able to work to the second level and secure blocks on linebackers while again showing the understanding to look to generate creases for ball carrier to run into rather than just putting a hat on a hat. He does a good job of locating his hands inside and while his pad level could again be better his arm extension is at least decent.
In the short term, Menet would give the Panthers a replacement for Tyler Larsen as the primary back-up center, with a chance to compete for the starting role down the line, and as somebody who is expected to be selected at some point on day three, he looks to be good value as well as a good fit with the Panthers’ needs.
Creed Humphrey, Oklahoma (6’4 302lbs)
Dec 28, 2019; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Oklahoma Sooners center Creed Humphrey (56) prepares to hike the ball during the 2019 Peach Bowl college football playoff semifinal game against the LSU Tigers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Possibly the best fit for the Panthers in this interior offensive line class is Creed Humphrey, who is not only in contention to be the top interior offensive lineman to come out of this draft but is somebody who stands a chance of still being on the board when the Panthers pick in the second round. While he played center at Oklahoma, he impressed playing guard at the Senior Bowl and could compete to start there right away while also being able to kick inside to center should the Panthers need a replacement for Matt Paradis.
While Humphrey doesn’t show flashy power or crazy speed to get down the field, he is a really good athlete with enough power to hold his own against even the most powerful defenders, the foot speed to cover laterally and the lower body to play with pretty good pad level and to bend around defenders to seal rushing lanes on the interior.
Humphrey also does a good job with his hands, showing consistent inside locating a nice tight punch to the frame of defenders on a consistent basis with good arm extension. He also does a good job of resetting his hands when defenders are able to get hands on him initially. He might not have any one facet of his game that stands-out on tape, but he has very few flaws and should be a quality starter from very early in his career.
For the Panthers, Humphrey would be an ideal option if he is still on the board come the second round, as he has the flexibility they like to see and should be able to lock-down a starting role long-term.
David Moore, Grambling State (6’2 330lbs)
Photo Credit: Grambling State Athletics
One thing that the John Miller signing does achieve, is that it should give the Panthers time to develop a long-term development behind him should they wish. David Moore is somebody the Panthers’ coaches will be familiar with after spending time with him at the Senior Bowl where he showed both a lot of upside and also a need for further technical development.
Athletically, Moore has the foot speed to cover laterally and the power to move defenders off the ball in the run game but needs to play with much more consistent pad level as this can limit him at times and leads to a narrow base which creates issues controlling and sustaining blocks. In the run game, he does flash the footwork to create rushing lanes laterally but will need further refinement to be consistently effective in this regard.
In terms of hand usage, he shows good hand location but can struggle for arm extension with his arms getting a little wide at times, though both of these issues will likely be helped by an improvement in pad level, which is really his major limiting factor at this point.
Moore is unquestionably raw and will need time to develop at the NFL level, but as a likely day three pick he is somebody the Panthers could coach for a year behind more veteran short-term options with a hope that he can step into a starting role down the road.
Wyatt Davis, Ohio State (6’4 315lbs)
Sep 7, 2019; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Wyatt Davis (52) against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Wyatt Davis has seen his stock drop slightly over the past couple of months, and having once been seen as somebody who could be selected in the final third of the first round, he now seems likely to be selected towards the middle of the second round and so is somebody the Panthers should consider with their second round pick.
Davis is a good athlete, with the foot speed to cover laterally and really quite good power to move people off the ball in the run game. He does need to continue to work on his pad level, however, as this can create some issues in maximizing his effective power output and leads to some issues in terms of control both as a pass protector and a run blocker.
He does do a pretty good job with his hands, locating them well with a good consistent to the frame of defenders and while his arm extension would be helped further by better knee bend this is still quite good and he also shows an ability to create rushing lanes laterally with nice footwork as a run blocker.
Davis needs to continue to improve to reach his full potential, but he should be able to step into a starting role in the short term while still having the developmental upside to become a very good player with time.
Photo Credit: Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Panthers probably won’t take an interior offensive lineman with their first pick in the draft, barring a scenario where they trade down into the second half of the first round, but it could be an option for them as early as the second round, and as much praise at the offensive tackle class has got for its depth, in terms of the day two players on offer the interior offensive line could actually offer better value.
(Top photo via Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)
