5 critical Carolina Panthers observations entering the 2023 NFL Draft

Brady Christensen is Carolina Panthers long-term LG...until he isn't.

I noticed a discussion on Twitter the other day about Carolina Panthers starting left guard Brady Christensen, with the question that has me pondering, is he the long-term starting option?

If you follow me on the platform, you will likely know that I am a firm believer in the former BYU left tackle. In 2021, I thought he was very impressive in terms of his overall functional athleticism, ability to climb to the second level with ease and use his first-step quickness and explosiveness to displace defensive linemen in the run game zone runs.

However, Christensen has not shown an overwhelming amount of power at the point of attack and at times has been blown back into the lap of the quarterback. Right now he is more of a technician than an all-around people mover in the trenches, which shouldn't be considered a bad thing.

I don't think he's a swing tackle on most teams. If he was with the Philadelphia Eagles, that would be an absolute. Even so, I think Christensen can continue to add more power to expand his game overall.

This doesn't mean the Panthers shouldn't consider drafting another guard. Projected top 100 selections TCU's Steve Avila and N.C. State's Chandler Zavala came in for visits in recent days, leading to the belief that Christensen's job is on the line. Adding more quality depth at the position would be a positive for Carolina to keep continuity in place along the offensive front.

It's hard to keep the same starting five offensive linemen in place for consecutive seasons and there is certainly a chance Christensen may not be the starter by year's end if he struggles. However, his play was very steady and enough to consider him a long-term starter at left guard until proven otherwise.