Ikem Ekwonu hasn't played a snap for the Panthers this season, and I think I've appreciated him a little more every week he's been out. I definitely did after watching Carolina's offensive line against Tampa Bay and Green Bay.
Ekwonu is still working his way back from the torn patellar tendon he suffered against the Los Angeles Rams in January. Carolina signed Rasheed Walker after four seasons in Green Bay and put him at left tackle while Ekwonu recovered. So far, that hasn't gone very well.
Tampa Bay was probably the worst of it. Walker gave up three sacks and seven pressures, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Young didn't have much time to get comfortable that afternoon, and the Panthers ended up losing 43-13.
Four days later, Young was running around again. Green Bay pressured him on 48.9% of his dropbacks and sacked him six times. Walker was out there for all 73 offensive snaps against his old team.
Through seven games, Walker has allowed 30 pressures and four sacks, according to Core Football Labs. He's also been called for six penalties. I've seen enough to know Carolina needs better play at left tackle.
I'm not putting all of the problems up front on Walker. Taylor Moton is out for the season, Damien Lewis didn't play Thursday and Corey Bullock hurt his quad during the game. This line looks a lot different from the one Carolina expected to have, but Walker hasn't helped much either.
Dave Canales gave an update this week and said Ekwonu is "trending in the right direction." He's doing more individual work now, which is good to hear considering the injury he's coming back from.
Canales isn't ready to have somebody go at him full speed yet, and I'm fine with that. A torn patellar tendon isn't something I'd mess around with just because the offensive line has struggled for a couple of weeks. The Panthers have already gone this long without Ekwonu.
Carolina also has some extra time before Denver comes to Charlotte on Nov. 8. Maybe Ekwonu is ready by then and maybe he isn't. I sure wouldn't mind seeing No. 79 again soon, but there's no reason to put him out there before he's ready.
Ekwonu has frustrated me plenty since Carolina took him sixth overall in 2022. His pass protection hasn't always been where it needs to be, and I've wondered at times whether the Panthers had their long-term answer at left tackle. I haven't wondered nearly as much lately.
Young has been under pressure on half of his dropbacks over the last two games. That number was 39.4% before this stretch, and his yards per attempt under pressure has fallen from 6.2 to 3.2. Watching Young deal with that much pressure has made Ekwonu's absence pretty noticeable.
Putting Ekwonu back at left tackle isn't going to fix the entire offensive line. Moton isn't walking back through the door this season, and we don't know what the group will look like by the time Denver gets here. I just know I'd rather have Ekwonu protecting Young's blind side right now.
Seven games without him have changed my mind quite a bit.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/panthers/onsi as Ikem Ekwonu's Value Keeps Rising While Panthers Wait for Return .
