{"id":707343,"date":"2026-01-26T21:59:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T21:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/707343\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T21:59:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T21:59:17","slug":"panthers-insider-pumps-brakes-on-ickey-ekwonu-replacement-in-first-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/707343\/","title":{"rendered":"Panthers Insider Pumps Brakes on Ickey Ekwonu Replacement in First Round"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carolina Panthers<\/a> suddenly need a left tackle after Ikem Ekwonu’s injury<\/a>. He may not play at all in 2026, and if he does, he will be out for a chunk of the season. <\/p>\n

That leaves the Panthers in a tough spot. It’s a contract year for Ekwonu after the team picked up his fifth-year option, but he likely won’t play. What do the Panthers do for 2026 and beyond?<\/p>\n

The simplest method is probably to draft<\/a> a replacement. Regardless of what happens, neither Ekwonu nor Taylor Moton is under contract beyond 2027. The tackle spot needs more help.<\/p>\n

When the Panthers get on the board, several tackles could be available:<\/p>\n

Francis MauigoaCaleb LomuKadyn ProctorMonroe Freeling<\/p>\n

They’re all either first-round picks or fringe first-rounders that could be available at 19. Will the Panthers invest now when they need a short-term option and very well could need a long-term option soon? <\/p>\n

\"Carolina<\/p>\n

Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu (79) looks on before the game against the Los Angeles Rams | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

One insider doesn’t think it’s likely. Maybe they invest later on in the draft, but a first-round pick is likely to be spent elsewhere, according to Joe Person of The Athletic<\/a>. <\/p>\n

“[GM Dan] Morgan hasn\u2019t taken an offensive lineman in two drafts as a GM, and bringing in a young tackle makes some sense,” Person began. “That said, the only way I could see Morgan drafting a tackle at 19 would be if the Panthers are convinced Ekwonu won\u2019t be the same player moving forward, and it\u2019s way too early for them to know that.”<\/p>\n

Finding a franchise tackle after the first two rounds is difficult, but the Panthers may opt for that path so they can develop him and use him as a stopgap until Ekwonu returns. Before the injury, it looked as if Ekwonu would be a long-term extension shoo-in. <\/p>\n

Who does that leave on the table for Carolina? Brian Parker II, Isaiah World, Gennings Dunker, and Drew Shelton could all be intriguing options in the third-round or so. <\/p>\n

It would be a huge shock if the Panthers didn’t take a tackle at some point, just don’t expect the 19th or 51st pick to be used on one. <\/p>\n

– Enjoy more free Panthers coverage with Carolina Panthers on SI –<\/p>\n

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NFL insider suggests Broncos add Cam Newton after Bo Nix injury<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Carolina Panthers suddenly need a left tackle after Ikem Ekwonu’s injury. He may not play at all…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":707344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2075],"tags":[235,260,2567,7,6,236],"class_list":{"0":"post-707343","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-carolina-panthers","8":"tag-carolina","9":"tag-carolina-panthers","10":"tag-carolinapanthers","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-panthers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115963650326947029","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=707343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/707344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}