Amongst its impressive 2022 NFL draft class, the Carolina Panthers got as much as they could at two key positions right off the top of their card. Those investments—hopefully both long-term ones for the middling franchise—could finally solidify the left tackle spot and the all-important quarterback position moving forward.
But how forward?
Here is our post-draft projection for the Panthers’ offensive depth chart:
| Position | Starter | Depth | |||
| QB | Sam Darnold | Matt Corral | P.J. Walker | ||
| RB | Christian McCaffrey | Chuba Hubbard | D’Onta Foreman | Spencer Brown | Darius Bradwell |
| FB | Giovanni Ricci | ||||
| WR | DJ Moore | Terrace Marshall Jr. | Brandon Zylstra | C.J. Saunders | |
| WR | Robby Anderson | Rashard Higgins | Shi Smith | Aaron Parker | |
| TE | Ian Thomas | Colin Thompson | |||
| TE | Tommy Tremble | Stephen Sullivan | |||
| LT | Ikem Ekwonu | Cameron Erving | Aaron Monteiro | ||
| LG | Brady Christensen | Michael Jordan | Dennis Daley | ||
| C | Bradley Bozeman | Pat Elflein | Sam Tecklenburg | ||
| RG | Austin Corbett | Deonte Brown | Cade Mays | Mike Horton | |
| RT | Taylor Moton | Austen Pleasants |
Matt Corral wasn’t the first player Carolina took, but his place on this chart is a tad more intriguing than Ikem Ekwonu’s. So we’ll start there.
The kicker in all of this is Sam Darnold—who may not even be on the roster come September. Look for the Panthers to still swing some sort of deal for a veteran quarterback—likely Jimmy Garoppolo or Baker Mayfield—to guide the way early on ahead of the third-rounder.
But if we’re forecasting the unit based off what’s there now, Darnold gets the first crack and a short leash. Corral goes over P.J. Walker simply because the franchise, with a juicy 2023 quarterback class ahead, will need to see if he’s worth hitching their wagon to beyond 2022.
Now, we head to Ekwonu—the first offensive player taken in the entire class. While there are some improvements for him to make as a pass protector, the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder didn’t have the sixth overall pick used on him for nothing.
He’ll likely earn his way onto the blindside, which’ll slide Brady Christensen to the inside. Fellow rookie and sixth-rounder Cade Mays, however, should serve as a nice depth piece for what was a painfully thin interior for Carolina in 2021.
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