Each week this offseason, we’ll be focusing on one position and how the Panthers may choose to address their needs; whether they’re in the market for an upgrade at starter or just a reliable backup, every player on the 53-man roster is going to be important in 2018.
This is Offensive Line Week.
The Panthers experienced some up-and-down play from Matt Kalil and Daryl Williams in 2017, but with Kalil getting a chance to settle in for a full healthy offseason and Taylor Moton looking to compete with Williams at right tackle, it would be somewhat surprising to see the Panthers spend a high draft pick on a tackle. However, with Williams entering the final year of his contract and Amini Silatolu’s borderline terrible play in place of Kalil, the Panthers may well look to add some depth in the middle to later round. With that in mind, what does the 2018 draft class have to offer at this position?
The Top Prospects
Connor Williams might well see some slippage due to an injury, but assuming he is signed off medically, then he looks to be comfortably the best tackle prospect in the class. McGlinchey shows signs of similar talent, but will need to work on his footwork and play height if he wants to establish himself as a starting tackle in the NFL; while KC McDermott might not be the most exciting prospect in this class and athletic limitations might limit him to playing on the right side in the NFL, technically he is fairly solid and could probably start early on the right side. Should the Panthers have concerns about Moton and Williams, McDermott could be a mid-round option to add to the starting right tackle competition.
Rankin, Cappa and Parker all show the athleticism to develop into starting tackles in the NFL, but all are in need of development as they are much more of a mixed bag in terms of technical ability. Cappa in particular could be an option should the Panthers want a prospect to develop for 2019 who might be available on the third day of the draft. Kolton Miller and Orlando Brown both offer some encouraging skills on tape, but both also show enough significant technical flaws that teams will be taking a significant risk should they invest a high draft pick on either of them; Brown in particular seems to struggle mightily with his lateral agility and will be a significant project for an NFL coaching staff.
Kendrick is the first of the players who could develop into a subpar starter, but who could offer valuable depth from an early stage of his career. If the Panthers decide that what they need is simply depth in case of injury, then that might well be something he can offer in the later rounds.
The Other Guys
Late round tackles don’t have a great record in the NFL, and should the Panthers look to take any of the above players it would likely be for depth rather than with any expectation of them developing into starters in the near future. With that being said, should any of the more developmental prospects be available as undrafted free agents then they could well be of interest to teams looking to develop a tackle on the practice squad or at the bottom end of the roster.
This is not an especially strong tackle class, and although the Panthers’ tackles need to improve in 2018, it would still be surprising to see them invest a high pick at the position given the players already on the roster. However, when the draft enters the final day, positional considerations are largely out the window and the Panthers could sensibly be expected to draft somebody to develop behind the existing players while also doubling as emergency depth.
