Although he drafted offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu to become the long-term left tackle this franchise has been waiting for, Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule didn’t want to just give his first-round selection the job. He had to earn it.
And, apparently, he’s done exactly.
Following Tuesday’s joint practice with the New England Patriots, Rhule was asked about Ekwonu’s placement on the blindside—where he took all first-team reps over challenger Brady Christensen throughout the session. That, as he replied, was a result of the rookie taking control of the position.
“We wanted Ickey to play, put it on tape in a game before we put him with the 1’s,” Rhule said. “We wanted him to go in a game and play and then sorta earn it with his play. He played well in the game. And so these are valuable reps for him. So there were some plays that were good, probably. There were some plays that I know weren’t very good. He’s going against [Matthew] Judon, they got good players over there. So it’s good reps for him.”
Rhule was then asked if they’ll stick with Ick at the spot.
“Yeah, I think that’s where we are moving forward,” he replied. “I think Brady’s one of our most improved players on this team. So MJ [Michael Jordan], Brady—they’ll continue to battle it out. And Brady can also play out of left tackle.”
So, as of now, that’ll leave the Panthers with two more competitions to be settled on the offensive line—Christensen versus Jordan at left guard and Pat Elflein versus Bradley Bozeman at center.
