4 players the Panthers could have drafted instead of Derrick Brown
By Luke Gray
Carolina Panthers could have drafted Jedrick Wills
The 2022 pick of Ikem Eckwonu somewhat alleviates the fact that the Carolina Panthers passed on Jedrick Wills in 2020. But at the time the team was still in their phase of a revolving door at left tackle with Russell Okung being the man to take up the mantle.
The former Alabama man was the second offensive tackle taken after Andrew Thomas at No. 4 overall. Wills has been a consistent starter, playing all 28 games since his selection by the Cleveland Browns.
He finished the 2021 season with a 66.1 grade from Pro Football Focus, higher than both Brady Christensen and Cam Erving respectively, who finished with grades of 62.4 and 56.0.
Willis finished his college career on the Crimson Tide with 929 pass-blocking snaps and just a single sack allowed.
The former top-rated prospect from the state of Kentucky was voted into the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2020 and has been part of a Browns team renowned for its strong running game, something head coach Matt Rhule is keen to implement in Carolina.
Since the retirement of Jordan Gross, a lot has been made of the Panthers’ inability to keep their quarterback upright. We saw the deterioration of Cam Newton, mostly down to Carolina’s inability to stop the 2015 NFL MVP from being hit week after week.
Rhule jokingly compared the Panthers line to interstate 85, saying it was “under construction”. The selection of a Day 1 starter at a position of need two seasons ago could have been slightly more beneficial than taking Derrick Brown – but one cannot deny defensive tackle help was also a huge need.