Feb. 28, 2026, 12:01 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
The Carolina Panthers<\/a> might catch themselves a hog molly this offseason.<\/p>\n Joe Person of The Athletic, in a fresh article from Saturday, offered up his biggest takeaways<\/a> for the team heading out of the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. As part of his notes, he reports that general manager Dan Morgan and his staff are “spending a lot of time” on assessing possible additions to their offensive line\u2014a position group that is likely to be without starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu for at least a portion of the upcoming campaign.<\/p>\n Person also suggests a potential draft option. He writes:<\/p>\n Morgan\u2019s \u201cbest available\u201d approach isn\u2019t just GM-speak. That said, an offensive tackle is in play for the Panthers at No. 19, where Alabama\u2019s mammoth OT Kadyn Proctor could be available.<\/p>\n Pairing a draft pick like Proctor with a free-agent swing tackle like Yosh Nijman allows the Panthers to fill Ekwonu\u2019s spot in the short term while giving a rookie a chance to develop before eventually succeeding right tackle Taylor Moton or Ekwonu, depending on how \u201cIckey\u201d looks post-surgery and whether the Panthers sign him beyond 2026.<\/p>\n Ekwonu ruptured<\/a> his patellar tendon in Carolina’s wild-card round loss<\/a> to the Los Angeles Rams<\/a> on Jan. 10. Morgan told reporters on Tuesday that his team’s blindside protector is “doing really good<\/a>,” but was unable to provide a timeline for his return.<\/p>\n