The Top 5 Unaddressed Positions of Need in the NFC

Carolina Panthers, Offensive Line

The Carolina Panthers haven’t seemingly been that bad at protecting the quarterback in recent years. 2014 was the first year since franchise quarterback Cam Newton was drafted that the offensive line allowed enough sacks to rank even in the top half of the league. This number belies a much more devastating statistic, however: since 2011, the Panthers have had a top-10 ranking in total pressures allowed (sacks plus hurries plus hits) for three seasons. They have also allowed a quarterback pressure 29.19% of the time, one of the highest marks in the league in that span of time.

It’s not that the Panthers haven’t tried to address this issue, it’s just that they’ve done it really poorly. Their only free agent signing along the line was that of Michael “The Blind Side” Oher, who has given up 93 total pressures in his last 27 starts as a right tackle. The man who will be backing him up? Dolphins’ and 49ers’ flameout Jonathan Martin. Martin played 661 snaps last season in 15 appearances (nine of them starts), but was fairly ineffective -– as a right tackle. He could be moved in to a guard position, but he has never played it before. The only rookie they added? 102nd Overall pick Daryl Williams out of Oklahoma. He allowed no sacks in his senior season as a Sooner, but his athletic limitations mean he’ll likely play as a road-grading right tackle only.

Best Solution So Far: Jonathan Martin, waiver claim from San Francisco