4 developing problems the Carolina Panthers need to fix through Week 2
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers OL depth
Credit to the offensive line for keeping things relatively clean in the pocket for Sam Darnold in Week 2. The Carolina Panthers got some improved production overall despite the odd blip, although it’s worth remembering the New Orleans Saints were without the services of Marcus Davenport and Kwon Alexander for the contest.
That being said, it was encouraging. John Miller’s return from the reserve/COVID-19 list certainly helped sure things up on the right, but it’s the left interior that comes with some real concerns ahead of their next outing.
Carolina already ruled Pat Elflein out through injury. This means Dennis Daley will get the start, who didn’t exactly perform to the best of his abilities against the Saints.
There are growing calls for the Panthers to get Brady Christensen and Deonte Brown more involved. But head coach Matt Rhule is being ultra-cautious with the rookie duo and also hasn’t yet activated Michael Jordan after picking him up off the waiver wire.
It’s hard to look at Carolina’s offensive line depth with any encouragement. All it’s going to take is one or two injuries to see production take a nosedive, but it’s not like Elflein’s been performing up to scratch from a pass-blocking point of view.
Only time will tell, obviously. But it’s a developing problem to monitor.