Guard is a position of strength on the Carolina Panthers roster, at least from a starters perspective. Andrew Norwell and Trai Turner combine to be one of the best young guard combinations in the NFL. Both of these guys started and played in all 16 games this season, though Trai was forced to play right tackle near the end due to the constant injury carousel happening at every other position on the line. Chris Scott is a tubby, yet serviceable, backup... but is limited pretty much squarely to guard duty. The one time he got a chance at right tackle was an unmitigated disaster. David Yankey only took snaps this season when straits became particularly dire. Overall, the Panthers could stand to freshen up the depth at the position, however, since many tackles or centers can also play guard, I think it is fine.
Andrew Norwell
2016 Season Stats: Left Hog Molly
Probably the signature undrafted free agent find of Dave Gettleman’s career, Norwell took hold of the starting job at left guard as soon as the Amini Silatolu experiment crashed and burned. Since that time, Norwell has been a stalwart force on the interior, and represented the only Panther lineman to play his designated position the entire season this year. Norwell shows heightened acumen in both pass pro and the run game, though he’s not a top-notch player in either sector, his above average ability in both makes him an important contributor.
Norwell is not under contract for 2017, and will be a restricted free agent. The Panthers will undoubtedly seek to work out a long term deal with Norwell, or use one of the higher RFA tenders available to keep him on staff.
Trai Turner
2016 Season Stats: Right Double Hog Molly
Trai is the most talented offensive lineman the Panthers currently have on their roster. I have watched him take on some of the best defensive lineman in the league, and hit the shutdown button on them. I have watched him put Gerald McCoy, Ndamukong Suh, and J.J. Watt on the turf, just to name a few. Trai is a plus rated blocker in both pass and run situations, and you can probably make that a double plus in the running game as he is one of the NFL’s best maulers. If the Panthers can find a good solution at right tackle, runs to that side will be very hard to stop. Turner had to spend a little bit of time at RT this season, which didn’t go great, but also didn’t go as poorly as you would expect. Either way, I’d prefer he never be in that situation again.
Trai is under his rookie 2nd round contract through the end of 2017, but don’t be surprised if negotiations take place during this offseason to lock him into a long-term deal. He has outplayed the money already given him in every imaginable way.
Chris Scott
2016 Season Stats: The largest Hog Molly
Chris Scott is listed at 340 pounds on the Panthers official website, but if you believe that, I have an igloo in south Charlotte to sell you. Chris Scott is the hoggiest of the molly size-wise, but his play doesn’t really reflect that fact. Scott doesn’t use his massive frame as productively as he could, and is pretty much horrible in space. Where he is serviceable, however, is as a straight line run blocker, which is enough to give him some utility at right guard. In pass protection, he is a liability, but that liability is again limited by the small space he works in as a guard. In other words, Chris Scott is a backup right guard, and really, that is all he should ever be asked to do.
Scott missed the first four games of 2016 for a PED suspension, but began to see action in various spots immediately after returning due to injuries. He even played a little center once, and that was a thing that should never be repeated. At the end of the year, he started four games at RG once the Panthers were in “just survive the season” mode, while Trai Turner moved out to tackle. Scott is currently not under contract for 2016, and I can’t imagine he’ll be a priority signing.
David Yankey
2016 Season Stats: The assumed Hog Molly
Yankey doodle came to town, a former Viking crony, he played a little at the end, when the season was baloney.
David was called up from the practice squad late in the season when things started to become a total farce for the Panthers offensive line. He made appearances mostly to spell Chris Scott at right guard, but didn’t see much action. I don’t really have an evaluation on him, but I can tell you that he entered the NFL with reasonable expectations. He was a 5th round pick by the Vikings in 2014, but didn’t see much game action there sitting behind a talented offensive line. Prior to that, he was a two-time All-American at Stanford, and played every spot but center.
Yankey is currently not under contract for 2017, but I would expect to see him get a non-guaranteed contract from Gettleman. There is potential there, and he certainly deserves to fight for a spot next season, as I consider the depth slots at guard to be a wide open competition.
Updated:
Amini Silatolu ...
2016 Season Stats: ...
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As of approximately 30 minutes after i published this article, Amini Silatolu is a Carolina Panther again. I stand by my original “failed experiment” statement.
Silatolu signed a one-year contract, assumed to be for no guaranteed money.
Look, nothing would please me more to find out that Amini has suddenly become healthy, and has put it all together, and can be a guard in this league. That means we’ll get something, anything, out of the 2nd round pick we wasted. Until that time, forgive my extreme pessimism.