The Carolina Panthers are in a sticky situation with head coach Matt Rhule. The famed three-season turnaround man had a tumultuous 2021. Heading into the 2022 free agency cycle, Carolina should target Connor Williams. There’s a new sheriff (offensive line coach) in town, and Williams fits what he will likely want to implement.
Why Connor Williams is a fit for the Carolina Panthers
Now, if Williams’ Spotrac value of over $13 million per year ends up correct, it could be a tough pill for the Panthers’ fanbase to swallow.
Dallas Cowboys fans loudly called for his benching midway through the season, and eventually, the team obliged. Despite sitting for multiple games behind Connor McGovern, Williams led the NFL with 10 holding penalties.
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But aside from that and the occasional poor anchor in pass protection, Williams is a darned good player. He’d quickly become Carolina’s second-best offensive lineman. I know that’s not saying much, but it’s still an improvement nonetheless.
Williams is also an excellent fit for the Panthers’ rushing attack. New Carolina offensive line coach James Campen had the Houston Texans running many different looks last season. Meanwhile, the Panthers ran more zone than anything.
Williams fits an athletic rushing attack for the Panthers
The 24-year-old guard is athletic as heck. He scored a 9.15 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) while measuring short and weighing under 300 pounds. And if you manually input his measurables into the calculator as a guard, his RAS rises to 9.69, which is a very nice number.
Yes, Williams had an astronomical amount of holdings called on him. That won’t happen again. Why am I so confident in that? Well, because dating back to 2006, no player on offense or defense has accrued that many holding penalties in a season.
Williams had three in 2020. In his first three seasons, referees only called him for 15 total penalties. He tied that mark in 2021 alone. That seems like an outlier.
Panthers fans will welcome Williams to protect whoever is playing QB in 2022. He can get his head across a 0-technique defensive tackle on wide-zone looks, and he’s outstanding in space when tasked in the screen game. Williams possesses loose hips that can hinge and swivel effortlessly to cut off defenders who look to undercut him.
Don’t expect any disrespectful finishes
Williams is still not an overwhelmingly powerful player. Now, it’s sometimes difficult to properly gauge his ability because he plays opposite of Zack Martin and in a division with some of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL. He faced Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, and Matt Ioannidis six times a season.
Still, Williams only allowed 11 sacks over his four-year career and has improved his blocking efficiency every season. His anchor has gotten stronger in pass protection, but he still struggles with power and length from the better interior rushers.
The more significant issue is getting “bubbled” back on zone looks. I’d expect Campen to insert some guard power-and-lead looks to get Williams a running start to the edge. That would still fit Carolina’s backfield talent.
Additionally, Williams has a hellish attitude at times. There’s a reason why his picture was floating around on social media during the Super Bowl. He got into it with Aaron Donald during training camp, and he did not lose. Also, he’s still very young. Williams could add a bit more weight and strength to his frame. He already has, and it hasn’t zapped his athleticism.
