Pass Protection
At the end of the day, pass protection for offensive tackles tends to be limited by foot speed, with technique allowing players to cover almost everything apart from just being run around. While nobody is perfect, Okung does show good foot speed with the ability to force edge rushers wide around the edge:
There were also a couple of times last season where he simply ran out of athleticism – and if he goes up against some of the most athletic pass rushers around the NFL, there are going to be limits to what he is capable of:
This is something the Chargers – and offensive line coach Pat Meyer, now in Carolina – looked to be aware of, and in situations where they absolutely had to throw the ball, they looked to help him out with a chip:
However, like with almost all offensive tackles in the NFL, most of the times when he does get beaten are not to do with his athletic limits but rather due to technical flaws that can be worked on. What is important then, is to understand what leads to these flaws and how often they occur.
The issue that most tackles have is that in order to maximize their speed around the edge to prevent their susceptibility to getting beaten by speed, they sacrifice areas of their technique which open them up to being beaten in other ways.
A simple example of this is when edge rushers look to rush by going from speed to power, hoping that in order to get more backwards speed, the tackle has sacrificed balance and raised their pad level – meaning that when contact is engaged, their center of gravity is high and their momentum is all going backward. Players who consistently suffer with power often are not not lacking in strength, but struggle with pad level in pass protection.
As in the run game, Okung does have a tendency to play a little high at times, as can be seen in the below clips:
But he is generally decent in this regard, and even when he does lose the initial contact, he does a pretty good of recovering:
The other way tackles often get beat is that they commit outside, and in so doing make themselves vulnerable inside. Sometimes this is just a matter of misjudging the angles, such as on the following plays where he goes a good job of getting his feet set and engaging his hands, but gets slightly too wide, allowing the defender a chance of getting a leverage advantage inside:
Neither of these plays lead to a hit on the quarterback, but it would be nice to see Okung keep everything outside of him and prevent rushers from being able to take an inside line. For the most part, Okung does a pretty good job of not allowing rushers to take the easy route:
But there were a few times on tape, especially against the Packers, where he did get his weight over his back legs too much, allowing defender to drive him wide and create inside rushing opportunities:
While Okung needs to be cognizant of being run around – as all tackles do – he also needs to eliminate such plays from his game when possible, as these give technically proficient and aware rushers a route to quick pressure. What is also worth noting, as mentioned earlier, is that Okung does use his hands extremely well in pass protection – in combination with his good foot speed, this puts him in the upper tiers of pass protecting tackles.
He is able to use his inside leverage well in combination with good hand placement to work edge rushers around the edge:
And does a good job of engaging at the point of attack and preventing blockers from getting into his frame:
Okung isn’t perfect as a pass protector, and his struggles with injury last year likely didn’t make things easier for him, but he has good, quick feet and is technically more than solid, with good hand usage and largely well-developed and disciplined footwork. Okung likely won’t suddenly become an All-Pro in his early thirties, but he is a good pass protector and can be an at least adequate run blocker in the right scheme.
For the Panthers, the question is less about whether Okung can help them be a better team in 2020, and more how he fits into what is expected to be a fairly heavy rebuild. Okung is in the final year of his contract, will turn 32 during the season, is coming off a 2019 derailed by injury and will cost them around $13m for the pleasure of having him on the roster for the 2020 season. Okung would appear to make much more sense for a team looking to compete in the here and now – and not a team looking at taking a step back on the field in the short term.
While Greg Little struggled with a series of injuries as a rookie, last year’s second-round pick is still dripping with potential and showed enough when he did play as a rookie for the team to be encouraged about how he could feature going forward. However, with no other option at left tackle on the roster, Okung now gives them a chance to bring Little along a little more slowly, meaning that he is then put in a position to succeed when he does take the field.
Further to this, if the Panthers get a month or so into the season and feel happy moving forward with Little, Okung could well have some significant trade value if he has stayed healthy to that point and there is a contending team looking for a short-term option at tackle. This isn’t a move which is likely to be a clear win or loss come the start of the season, but the Panthers have certainly added a high quality tackle – and that tends to be a good thing, even if it’s not clear what the plan is for him right now.
