5 Carolina Panthers players on the hot seat heading into 2021 season

Cam Erving – Carolina Panthers OT

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out just where the Carolina Panthers are probably weakest heading into the 2021 season. Their offensive line is a group of patchwork veterans and one stud in right tackle Taylor Moton, so just how this unit performs will have some big-time ramifications for good or bad.

Cam Erving is a case in point. The Panthers are giving him a chance to prove beyond all doubt he isn’t a draft bust and can be counted upon to protect the blindside consistently, which we haven’t seen from the former first-round pick throughout his career so far.

Erving’s production is far more solid on the interior. Somewhere that puts him around assistance and not on an island against some of the most feared pass-rushers in the business.

Any defensive coordinator worth his salt is going to attack Carolina’s left side early and often during games. How Erving and Pat Elflein hold up in the face of such extreme pressure will be crucial.

Much like the situation with Elflein, this is Erving’s final chance to become a reliable starter. But make no mistake, the former Ole Miss standout is on a very short leash.

Whether he can turn things around enough to hold things down is highly debatable. If he fails, then not addressing one of the more important positions on the field more effectively is sure to come under the spotlight.