4 Carolina Panthers UDFAs who could steal a roster spot in 2024
By Dean Jones
Andrew Raym - Carolina Panthers C
Although the Carolina Panthers seem confident in Austin Corbett's ability to make a successful transition to the center position in 2024, many analysts projected those in power to pick up a long-term option from an extremely deep draft class for offensive lineman. Dan Morgan opted to focus on the offensive skill positions and enhance defensive depth instead.
This was a gamble, to put it mildly. Corbett has the experience and proven credentials to potentially make a go of things, but the former second-round pick has never won a center starting job outright and has yet to take a competitive NFL snap at the position. Therefore, it's not hard to see what complications could emerge.
That's not accounting for the two serious knee injuries suffered by Corbett in consecutive seasons. Morgan revealed that Brady Christensen had also been taking snaps at center, which adds to his versatility but doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
Andrew Raym could change all that if he impresses Carolina's coaching staff throughout the offseason. He's a proven center during his time with the Oklahoma Sooners, is a former four-star high school recruit, and has 22 starts in two seasons after replacing Creed Humphrey.
Raym is a little rough around the edges, but his physical attributes indicate further improvements can arrive quickly. He's a well-coordinated blocker with decent lateral movement for a man his size. The prospect also enhanced his pre-snap recognition and ability to communicate this across the protection during his final college campaign.
The player is raw from a technical standpoint in pass protection. Raym needs to improve the speed at which he gets into his sets and react better to differing interior pass-rushing moves. This causes the undrafted free agent some confusion at times and can lead to penalty infringements.
That said, it's not costing the Panthers much to find out whether Raym's talent can be molded into the primary backup option behind Corbett when the time comes to finalize Carolina's 53-man roster in 2024.