Carolina Panthers continue rotating at key positions
Much of the attention is obviously on the quarterback competition and the splitting of reps between Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. Something that continued during Friday’s practice despite many expecting the Carolina Panthers to put their recent acquisition front and center.
However, this is also happening at two key positional groups across the offensive line. An area where continuity is absolutely vital.
Brady Christensen continues to dominate starting reps at the left tackle spot. Instead of familiarizing Ikem Ekwonu with the starting left guard job, that role is being primarily filled by Michael Jordan more often than not.
A combination of Ekwonu on the edge and Christensen on the interior was used during team drills. This might be the tandem Carolina goes with, even though Matt Rhule outlined that the North Carolina State product must earn his spot in the coming weeks.
Perhaps what’s more strange is Carolina’s insistence to put Pat Elflein at the center spot and have Bradley Bozeman working with the second string. This could obviously change when push comes to shove, but the sooner a starting offensive line is decided upon, the easier it will be to develop chemistry.
Rhule said that the tape is all that matters right now. Even though time is rapidly becoming of the essence.
"“Now a couple weeks in, we’re going to really see on tape. We’re not going to do it based off of where anyone was drafted, or what expectations are. We’re going to do it off of tape.”"
Getting these decisions right is of critical importance. And the sooner, the better.