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Film Study: Ikem Ekwonu

jayboogieman

By jayboogieman,
in Carolina Panthers

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ForJimmy Grand Master

ForJimmy

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, rebelrouser said:

This was a great draft pick. I think it's pretty clear he is the best of last year's Charles Cross and Evan Neal OT group. I am pretty happy to have a rookie of his quality. They will clean up his pass blocking. The athleticism he needs to be good is there, he just needs some experience and coaching. He is an absolute road grader run blocker already.

Agreed. He was raw as a pass protector, but clearly progressed well under Campen. We definitely drafted the right LT last year. 

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Pejorative Miscreant Grand Master

Pejorative Miscreant

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1 hour ago, CPantherKing said:

Video shows he is a great run blocker and a sub par pass blocker who needs help. He struggles with leaning, kick step, and overall pass pro when left alone to block the QBs blind side. QB must keep his head on a swivel and not trust his LT one on one with a top speed rusher/blitzer. He is going to need 2 to 3 more seasons to develop into an average pass blocker who will not require other blockers to help him out.

He'd be an all pro OG right now no question. He isn't going to sniff the all pro list as an OT with his pass blocking. He'll be a starter in the NFL for a while, but his best position is OG.

As long as he is at OT, I expect him to cost his team 2 to 3 wins per season.

 

32 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

https://theathletic.com/3976961/2022/12/07/panthers-ikem-ekwonu-rookie-left-tackle/?amp=1
 

I'm curious why there is such a disparity in the video reference vs. the statistic.  Was there something telling in the video that lead you to the conclusion?  No disrespect intended, just wanted to know if there was a compelling trait that was found.

I'm not the most technical reviewer of skill but I think he came as advertised.  Very good run blocker but needed some development on pass protection.  Pass protection (to me) showed improvement throughout the year.  Still fairly young so there is room for growth and by far is the best prospect at LT on the roster since Gross. 

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ForJimmy Grand Master

ForJimmy

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11 minutes ago, Pejorative Miscreant said:

 

I'm curious why there is such a disparity in the video reference vs. the statistic.  Was there something telling in the video that lead you to the conclusion?  No disrespect intended, just wanted to know if there was a compelling trait that was found.

I'm not the most technical reviewer of skill but I think he came as advertised.  Very good run blocker but needed some development on pass protection.  Pass protection (to me) showed improvement throughout the year.  Still fairly young so there is room for growth and by far is the best prospect at LT on the roster since Gross. 

You can not allow a sack but still allow pressures or commit penalties while pass protecting. People (or the single person/troll) claiming he will cost us a quarter of our schedule in losses because his pass protection is so bad are clearly full of poo. He is a capable pass protector who was raw as a rookie but has already shown great improvement. As the article stated it appears we have our franchise LT.

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CPantherKing Grand Master

CPantherKing

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20 hours ago, Pejorative Miscreant said:

 

I'm curious why there is such a disparity in the video reference vs. the statistic.  Was there something telling in the video that lead you to the conclusion?  No disrespect intended, just wanted to know if there was a compelling trait that was found.

I'm not the most technical reviewer of skill but I think he came as advertised.  Very good run blocker but needed some development on pass protection.  Pass protection (to me) showed improvement throughout the year.  Still fairly young so there is room for growth and by far is the best prospect at LT on the roster since Gross. 

If you watch the videos in detail which focus more on his strengths than his weaknesses, you will see examples of what the issue is when I list the statistics.

6 sacks was the most sacks given up by a Panthers OL. That was Ekwonu. 27 pressures was the most given up by a Panthers OL. That was Ekwonu. Penalites 13. That was the most given up by an OL in the NFL. That was Ekwonu. The Panthers OL was ranked just out of the top half of the league.

Now, he held and got called for penalties, but he did not make sure the QB was protected when he committed these penalties. 1 of those 13 was highlighted in the video and the Panthers QB got destroyed. That was a sack given up by Ekwonu, but the 49ers chose the penalty because they get additional yards. This is a major problem if you are giving up sacks and then extra yards with a holding penalty. This is worse than allowing the sack.

That tweet that keeps being posted does not take into account the sacks he gave up that were turned into a holding penalty. You decide what is worse... a sack or a sack that is taken away from the OL in favor of a penalty?  That happened in week 5. I'm not going to overlook that sack-penalty because of a tweet that says he hasn't given up an official sack since week 2.

Also, the plays Ekwonu was left alone to block a speed rusher for a 5 or 7 step drop were a problem. Ekwonu would lean badly and get beat. This allowed the rusher to get to the QBs spot before the QB forcing the QB to step up prematurely. This happened on a play against the Cardinals and Moton got hit with a pressure because he blocked for a 7 step drop and the QB had to bail and step up into his defender. Routes were never able to develop and it resulted in a broken play that turned into a shovel pass to CMC.  Ekwonu walked away from the play without a negative stat. He was the only reason for that play breaking down. Moton got hit with the negative stat. Only someone who looked at each rep and wrote this down as a negative on Ekwonu and a mulligan on Moton would see these plays.

Watch Ekwonu's pass blocking in the 4th quarter for the last 3 losses of 2023 to the Ravens, Steelers, and Bucs. All were winnable games.

Expecting a sophomore slump, and for Ekwonu to develop into an average pass blocker by year 4.

Edited by CPantherKing
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ForJimmy Grand Master

ForJimmy

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I hope people are actually checking some of this data being provided.

https://www.footballdb.com/stats/penalties-player.html

Penalties by OL Icky had 11 which was towards the top but not 13 (which was the top).  For context he had one more than Tunsil who is considered a solid LT.  Only 4 of those were holding (4 false starts and 4 "other").  

Icky is fine.  SI gave us an A for drafting him in a post season review

Ekwonu struggled a bit out of the gates, but that was expected. Offensive linemen usually have the toughest transition to the NFL and it didn't help that he had to go up against Myles Garrett in Week 1. He improved as the season went on, dominating in the run game and evolving as a pass protector. Ekwonu wasn't perfect, but he had about as good of a year as you would have hoped for him to have. 

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