Ikem Ekwonu raves about how Bryce Young's football IQ has made his job easier
Carolina Panthers second-year left tackle Ikem Ekwonu has been extremely impressed with rookie quarterback Bryce Young. Drafted No. 1 overall out of Alabama, Young has showed poise in earning his way to the starting job during training camp.
Specifically, Ekonwu praised the football IQ of Young, which he believes is already NFL-ready. Young got his first chance to show that during the Panthers preseason debut against the Jets, where Ekonwu joined the NFL Network broadcast to explain what he sees out of the QB early on.
“It’s made it a lot easier. His pocket presence is second-to-none,” Ekwonwu said. “The fact that he can sense where the pressure is coming from, sense that he needs to drop back or step up in the pocket, it really helps out the offense a lot.”
Young made his debut for the Panthers on Saturday, playing a total of three drives before calling it a day. He finished the game 4-of-6 passing for 21 yards and was also sacked twice. In fact, the offensive line struggled all afternoon as it allowed a total of five sacks in a 27-0 loss.
Still, the Panthers return all of their offensive line starters from last season for a group that looks strong to start 2023. Ekwonu, the No. 6 overall pick in 2022 out of NC State, explained the ways he has most improved coming off of his rookie season.
“I think it’s my confidence overall,” he said. “It’s definitely gone up since last year. It’s a credit to working across the line with some of those guys like (Brian) Burns, Yetur (Gross-Matos), Marquis Haynes. It’s definitely helped me a lot along the way.”
The Panthers offense struggled Saturday to finish with just 160 total yards in the shutout. But with players like Young and Ekwonu, there is a lot to look forward to in the future for Carolina.
Ekwonu reveals Panthers offensive lineman who has made impression in offseason
The Panthers will begin the season without starting right guard Austin Corbett, who suffered a torn ACL in the season finale last year. As he recovers from that injury, players such as Chandler Zavala and Justin McCray are expected fill in for him.
Although Corbett might not be able to play yet, however, he’s still shown his value to the offensive line throughout this offseason.
“Corbett’s been great. He’s really just another coach out there,” Ekwonu said. “He’s always watching film with us. Always analyzing our game, giving tips and tricks because obviously he’s been there, done that. So I’m very appreciative to have a guy like Corb on the team.”
His absence has forced others to step up, and undrafted rookie Ricky Lee out of North Carolina AT&T has so far stood out to Ekwonu.
“He came out a little bit skinny but he took that little summer break we had and he ran with it,” Ekwonu said. “Put on some muscle in that month of time we had off after OTAs. We’re finally settling in and he’s been out here balling.”
As Bryce Young enters his rookie reason, the Panthers offensive line will look to do its best to protect him and give him the best chance to succeed. Similarly, he’ll hope to continue to make their lives easier with his pocket awareness and football IQ.