Looking closer – the offensive line

Oh boy, you few readers out there are gonna have to bear with me as I try to sort through the mixup that is the Panthers o-line. I’ll start from the inside out to try to make it easier. Expect to hear several guys mentioned twice or more too. Here we go….

Center is about the only position that is actually set in stone on the offensive line. Last year’s second round pick, Ryan Kalil, will take over the starting role after the release of Justin Hartwig, one of the Panther’s biggest free agency disappointments in recent memory. Kalil started two games at guard for the suspended Jeremy Bridges and one at center for the injured Justin Hartwig last year. He needs to become a capable starter for the future. Kalil will have a capable backup in Geoff Hangartner, who has started at guard for the Panthers and started 15 games for them in place of Hartwig in 2006.

To the left and right of Kalil, things become extremely murky. The Panthers have expressed interest in moving left tackle Travelle Wharton to left guard, where he started as a rookie and is considered a much better fit for him, after the release of former Pro Bowler Mike Wahle. However, if the Panthers don’t grab a starting tackle in the draft, Wharton could stay at left tackle, leaving two unknowns at guard. Without Wharton there, the left and right guard spots would probably be occupied by some combination of our free agent pickups Milford Brown, Keydrick Vincent, and Toniu Fonoti. Brown is a very versatile lineman (he started at left guard, right guard, and right tackle for the Rams last year) and I think he will end up starting somewhere on the line – right guard if Wharton moves inside, or left guard if he doesn’t. If Brown is at left guard, that probably leaves Keydrick Vincent, signed from the Cardinals, to be the starter at right guard. He would battle with a much trimmer, former All-Pro Toniu Fonoti (he pulled a Kris Jenkins and has had serious trouble with his weight in the recent years) for the job. This also leaves Jeremy Bridges and Evan Mathis as backups, with Geoff Hangartner a capable guard as well. Whew….follow any of that?

At tackle, it’s a little easier to follow. Jordan Gross, the team’s franchise player, will of course start at one end of the line. He will probably stay at right tackle should Wharton stay at tackle, but will probably be forced into playing left tackle if Wharton slides inside. On the opposite side of him, whichever side that may be, will be either Wharton or a rookie (I like Jeff Otah out of Pitt if Ryan Clady is gone by 13). Evan Mathis was reportedly attempting to become a backup at tackle, but there’s no indication he’ll be better off there. Frank Omiyale, a player claimed off waivers last offseason, is also on the roster as a backup tackle.

The Panther’s offensive line could very well be fielding different starters at all five positions from last year. Or there’s a possibility two or three of them could stay the same. There will be one or two players starting who weren’t with the team last year, and at least one player, most likely two, will be full-time NFL starters for the first time. Throw in a potential first round pick at tackle, and how do you think John Fox feels about trying to sort out his offensive line for 2008? Here’s how he’s probably feeling. I give the big uglies a C for a combination of unknownst, potential (draft pick, Fonoti, Kalil), talent (Gross, Wharton if he moves to guard), and extreme versatility (Hangartner, Wharton, Brown, Mathis).