4 pros and cons to the Panthers potentially trading for Andre Dillard

Andre Dillard has upside

Things might have been difficult for Andre Dillard during his NFL career so far, but it’s a little too soon to be throwing in the towel just yet. The former first-round pick came into the league with the highest of ceilings following an exceptional stint with Washington State that led many to believe his transition to the next level would be a smooth one.

This hasn’t gone according to plan for a variety of different reasons. But there remains some upside where Dillard is concerned and certainly more than those options currently available to the Carolina Panthers at left tackle if they eventually decide to not shift Taylor Moton.

Want to know just how good Dillard was at the collegiate level? Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus recently broke it down.

"“The former Washington State tackle looked to be one of 2019 NFL Draft’s safest bets in pass protection. He racked up 2,236 pass-blocking snaps across three seasons (2016-2018) in college football’s pass-heaviest offense — over 400 more snaps than any other tackle in the FBS. In addition, he finished that three-year stretch with a 97th percentile pass-blocking grade on true pass sets.”"

This obviously counts for nothing in the NFL. Dillard hasn’t lived up to his promise after being taken No. 22 overall by the Eagles, but a fresh start in a different might be all the player needs to start making a better go of things.

And as we all know, the Panthers have been more than willing to take a shot on this sort of player under the current regime.