Pat Elflein – Carolina Panthers OL
After some outstanding reinforcements across the offensive line, it appears as if this unit will have no fewer than four new starters on the protection if Brady Christensen’s transition to the left guard spot goes smoothly. Something that was extremely welcome after another campaign of misery from start to finish in 2021.
Bradley Bozeman, Austin Corbett, and Ikem Ekwonu represent substantial upgrades on anything the Carolina Panthers had last season. This includes Pat Elflein, who was signed within hours of legal tampering getting underway and went through some expected complications before turning things around slightly once installed to the center spot.
According to Pro Football Focus, Elflein did not concede a single sack last time out and was responsible for two penalties from 534 snaps. However, his less than stellar 50.1 grade from the same analysts is proof positive of how much the Ohio State product struggled to make the necessary impression.
Elflein is still around after restructuring his contract this spring. Accepting a backup role will be difficult, but he must demonstrate urgency in training camp with young guns such as Deonte Brown and Cade Mays breathing down his neck.
Signing Elflein to such a big deal was a massive error in judgment by the Panthers. Thankfully, they put things right this offseason and this could bring about offensive line consistency for the first time in a while.