Tag: Ikem Ekwonu

Panthers WR Terrace Marshall Jr. headlines Week 8 snap counts

Panthers WR Terrace Marshall Jr. is seeing the field more than he ever has in the NFL, and he’s taking advantage of it.

Even in a disheartening defeat, the Carolina Panthers saw plenty of good against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8. And amongst those positives are the encouraging returns they received on the distribution of their snap counts.

Here are the most notable standouts in that department from Sunday.

Panthers offensive line continues to be a huge bright spot in 2022

Carolina’s offseason additions in Ikem Ekwonu, Austin Corbett and Bradley Bozeman have helped turned a once broken unit into an exciting and promising strength.

Ranging anywhere from mediocre to downright awful, the Carolina Panthers have had a persistent problem in its offensive trenches for the last decade.

Of course, they’ve had one heck of a time trying to replace franchise great Jordan Gross at left tackle—patching the spot with a mixture of 16 men between 2014 and 2021. They’ve also filled the gaps over to the right of the blindside with temporary fixes, various journeymen and flat-out busts.

But, that is no longer the case, as the Panthers took a huge step in addressing the entirety of the line in 2022.

The journey got a huge boost this offseason, when the team signed free agents Austin Corbett and Bradley Bozeman. Carolina then, in what was seemingly a pity gift from the football gods, was presented with their choice of three potential franchise left tackles in the 2022 NFL draft. They ultimately chose North Carolina State University’s Ikem Ekwonu.

Corbett and Bozeman, in turn, have been excellent in their new home—with the former leading the charge of a successful ground game and the other filling the starting void at center admirably these past few weeks.

Ekwonu, who struggled a bit in pass protection to start his career, has progressed rapidly—having allowed just four pressures between Weeks 4 and 8. Even in his first start, one where he struggled against Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns, it was clear that he was improving as the game went along and holding his own against one of the league’s best performers.

These new additions, along with right tackle Taylor Moton and left guard Brady Christensen, have been key in turning Carolina’s identity back to a run-first, clock-control team. And with plenty of season left to grow for this unit, the future is bright for what was once a dangerously dark area for the franchise.

[lawrence-related id=661254,661194]

[listicle id=661175]

Best and worst PFF grades from Panthers’ Week 4 loss to Cardinals

In an otherwise gloomy offensive outing for the Panthers, rookie LT Ikem Ekwonu had his best game yet.

Pro Football Focus has a few surprises in store for the Carolina Panthers’ performance from Week 4. So, let’s check these grades out.

Best and worst PFF grades from Panthers’ Week 2 loss to Giants

For the second straight week, Baker Mayfield received one of the five lowest PFF grades on offense amongst all Panthers.

The Pro Football Focus grades are in for the Carolina Panthers’ Week 2 loss to the New York Giants. And, well, they’re probably what you’d expect them to be.

Here’s the best and worst of this week’s marks.

Key matchups to watch in Panthers vs. Giants

Not only do the Panthers have to get Christian McCaffrey more involved, but there’s a soft spot in the Giants defense that they must allow him to take advantage of.

Sunday’s Week 2 tilt between the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants may very well come down to the performance of two players. (You probably already know who they are.)

So, let’s highlight those two men—and another matchup of particular importance—heading into this showdown at the Meadowlands.

Giants vs. Panthers: 5 things to know about Week 2

The New York Giants and Carolina Panthers square off on Sunday afternoon in Week 2, so here are five things fans should know.

The New York Giants (1-0) host the Carolina Panthers (0-1) at MetLife Stadium this coming Sunday afternoon.

The Giants won their opener on the road, 21-20, against the Tennessee Titans, their first Kickoff Weekend win since 2016 and only their second since 2011.

The Panthers lost their opener at home, 26-24, to the Cleveland Browns. Two questionable calls in the final minute by the officials gave the Browns an opportunity to win the game.

Here are five things to know about Sunday’s matchup.

Best and worst PFF grades from Panthers’ Week 1 loss to Browns

In his NFL debut, 2022 sixth overall pick Ikem Ekwonu earned PFF’s worst offensive grade amongst all Panthers in Week 1.

You know a lot of these numbers we’re about to show you from the Carolina Panthers’ season-opening loss to the Cleveland Browns aren’t going to be pretty. But, we’ll show you anyway . . . because we’re that nice.

Here are the best and worst Pro Football Focus grades from the Week 1 defeat.

Studs and duds from Panthers’ season-opening loss to Browns

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey didn’t see his usual workload on Sunday. But when he was on the field, he made a noticeable difference.

Sunday’s game was a harsh fallback to reality for what has been a poor last few seasons for the Carolina Panthers and head coach Matt Rhule. Thoughts of revenge and enthusiasm were dusted and downed as quickly as they came up, with the team imploding far too early on in the afternoon.

There were a lot of lessons to be learned from this loss. And while there were certainly a lot of failures to be had, there were also some bright points on both sides of the ball.

Here is some of the good, as well as the bad, from Week 1 defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns.

Myles Garrett is schooling Panthers first-round rookie Ickey Ekwonu

Panthers rookie first-round left tackle Ikem Ekwonu had a tough draw in his first NFL game — Browns pass-rusher Myles Garrett.

Carolina Panthers first-round rookie left tackle Ikem “Ickey” Ekwonu came into his first NFL game with the honor of being the first offensive player taken in in the 2022 draft (sixth overall by the Panthers), with the best use of his nickname since Elbert “Ickey” Woods, and with a rather daunting first official assignment.

Ekwonu would have to deal with Myles Garrett, the Cleveland Browns’ elite pass-rusher, in his professional debut. It did not go well, as Ekwonu gave up back-to-back sacks to Garrett in the third quarter of what we all know as the Baker Mayfield Revenge Game.

Well, the rookie has not helped his quarterback in that revenge gambit. With 6:16 left in the third quarter, Ekwonu just lost Garrett around the arc.

And then, on the very next play, and even with chip help, Ekwonu just couldn’t contain Garrett around the arc… again.

This shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Ekwonu came out of North Carolina State with a well-deserved rep as a power-blocker, but with some required technique work around the edge.

This showed up in one of the two sacks he allowed to the New England Patriots in Week 2 of the preseason. Here, Ekwonu had to deal with Josh Uche, and just as was the case before, he got out late, failed to be aggressive with his hands, and ended up in a bad place.

However! On this Mayfield 75-yard touchdown pass to Robby Anderson, Ekwonu got out of his stance with more urgency, and that allowed him to at least keep Garrett at bay long enough for his quarterback to complete the deep pass.

More of that, and Ekwonu will come out of this game shooting par against Garrett, which is more than can be said for a lot of tackles with far more experience.

Panthers rookie OT Ikem Ekwonu pancakes, gets pancaked against Patriots

Panthers rookie OT Ikem Ekwonu pancaked one Patriots defender, only to find himself pancaked by another.

The Carolina Panthers selected North Carolina State offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu with the sixth overall pick in the 2022 draft because Ekwonu is a tremendously powerful player, and between Ekwonu and underrated right tackle Taylor Moton, Carolina has two of the most effective defender-erasing outside blockers in the NFL today.

That said, Ekwonu got a sharp lesson in leverage and power at the NFL level on this play in the Panthers’ Friday night preseason game against the New England Patriots. Ekwonu (No. 79) was pulling to block to the outside left — all 6-foot-4, 310 pounds of him — and he was absolutely leveled by Patriots safety Kyle Dugger (No. 23), who stands 6-foot-2, 220. That’s big for a defensive back, but still… you don’t expect to see this level of carnage in a matchup like this.

Running back Chuba Hubbard did gain the first down on this play, but that’s something for Dugger to cherish once film day comes around.

In fairness to Mr. Ekwonu, he had his own stick hit to brag about, when he took defensive back Jonathan Jones (No. 31) several yards in the wrong direction, from the Patriots’ point of view.

Perhaps Dugger was defending Jones’ honor? In any event, Ekwonu is learning an important lesson — in the NFL, it’s hit or be hit, and the equation can change very quickly.