Rare accolade for Carolina Panthers' first-rounder comes with an insult

Bleacher Report names Carolina's most-underpaid player as left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, but it's a low bar.

Oct 13, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu (79) before the game at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

We believe the Carolina Panthers have dramatically improved their defense - at least on paper - this offseason. Unfortunately, even if that's the case they still probably have one of the worst overall rosters in the NFL.

Assuming that their defense has gone from historically terrible to just normal bad is a significant improvement, but there's still a lot of work to be done on that side of the ball. For one thing, they could use another genuine investment at the safety position. The Panthers also need a fourth Musketeer on the edge to join Jadeveon Clowney, DJ Wonnum and Patrick Jones II.

Once that's taken care of, they still have to deal with a below-average personnel group on offense. Their wide receiver and tight end units are among the worst in the league - and their offensive line is far more popular with Panthers fans and analysts than with everybody else.

Oct 13, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu (79) is introduced before the game at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

A good example of this dynamic is left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, who showed some real improvement during the 2024 season.

For his efforts, Ekwonu earned a career-best 71.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. He also earned an accolade from Bleacher Report as being the team's most underpaid player. Sadly, it's a low bar and Ekwonu's honor comes with a serious asterisk.

"He's no star and is sort of here by default because Carolina's roster is so underdeveloped that there aren't a lot of options. Still, the 2022 first-round pick is just 24 and he's become a fairly reliable left tackle at a more-than-reasonable rate of just $6.9 million a season."

Truth hurts. From the inside, the Panthers look like they have improved their roster quite a bit - and we believe they have. That doesn't change the fact that their roster is still probably only third-best in their own division - and posting a losing 8-9 record would likely be considered a massive step forward for this franchise.

Ekwonu is developing, but you'd like to see him earning more than a "fairly reliable" label heading into his fourth year in the league. In his defense, the college game is so radically different for offensive linemen that even first-round picks like Ekwonu usually need a few seasons to fully adjust.

It's difficult after seven straight years with a losing record, but patience is the name of the game, here. Ickey deserves more time to grow into his game and it's going to take more than just one offseason for the Panthers to dig themselves out of this hole.

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