3 critical Carolina Panthers storylines vs. the Browns in Week 1

Ikem Ekwonu’s baptism of fire on full Carolina Panthers debut

The Carolina Panthers offensive line got completely revamped with only right tackle Taylor Moton expected to start from last season. They signed Bradley Bozeman from the Baltimore Ravens and Austin Corbett from the Los Angeles Rams, with Brady Christensen listed as the starting left guard after some positional mismanagement as a rookie.

However, the most significant improvement to the group was Ikem Ekwonu, Carolina’s first-round draft pick.

Ekwonu was highly touted coming out of North Carolina State. He earned a 91.6 pass-blocking grade as a junior, according to Pro Football Focus, and is a dominant run-blocker but has some work to do in pass protection, as evident by his fluctuating performances in the preseason.

The first test of his career isn’t a cakewalk, as he’ll be lining up against star edge rusher Myles Garrett. The former No. 1 overall selection in 2016 has terrorized opposing tackles since entering the league, making two All-Pro teams and totaling 58.5 sacks across his five-year career.

He set a career-high in sacks last season with 16 and had a league-high 52 pressures. Even if Garrett lines up on the other side, the 21-year-old left tackle will have to face a different No. 1 overall pick in Jadeveon Clowney.

Clowney isn’t nearly as explosive or dangerous as Garrett, but the South Carolina product still has a lot of firepower in his game. He generated 32 pressures and nine sacks last season, the most in his career since 2018.

Ekwonu has already had his hands full in the preseason, as he’s battled against talented edge rushers in Montez Sweat and Matt Judon. This is about as hard as it gets for a rookie debut and he’ll have to perform at a high level or it will become a long day for Baker Mayfield and the Panthers’ offense.