Panthers bring back Brady Christensen

Christensen suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 8. He underwent surgery earlier this week. Christensen will hit free agency at the age of 29 after this season. The Panthers signed Mike White to their 53-man roster in a corresponding move. White could serve as Bryce Young’s backup this week with Andy Dalton banged up.

A defender rolled into the back of his legs in the fourth quarter. He popped up after the play but immediately grabbed for his knee and fell back down. Then the cart was brought out. Christensen has played every spot on the offensive line for the Panthers but is primarily a guard. The Panthers are now down three starting offensive linemen.

A 2021 third-round pick, Christensen just wrapped his rookie contract. He spent 2024 time at left tackle and center and has an entire season’s worth of playing time at left guard. He is a replacement-level player on the whole, but that kind of versatility can be ... hard to replace. Christensen is old for a fifth-year pro, turning 29 in September.

Carolina’s offensive line was ravaged by injuries in the team’s Week 1 loss to the Falcons. Bryce Young was pressured on 46 percent of his drop backs against Atlanta — the fifth highest rate among QBs in Week 1. He was sacked twice. Young could be in for a long day against the Saints in Week 2.

Ditto for Carolina’s other starting guard, Austin Corbett, who tore his ACL in the finale. Christensen broke his ankle in Week 18. This would seem to put a small damper on the chances of Carolina’s best starting line being ready for Week 1, but there’s still some time for both players to recover and their knees aren’t going to be quite as taxed as they would be if they were playing a skill position.

This comes after team OTAs and minicamp, where Christensen spent substantial time at left tackle despite the team drafting NC State OT Ikem Ekwonu with the No. 6 overall pick last April. There’s a good chance that Ekwonu ultimately ends up as the team’s starting left tackle, but it won’t be surprising if Christensen finds a starting role somewhere along the offensive line. During his time at BYU Christensen was PFF’s highest-graded lineman ever (95.9). He started every game at left tackle in his final season for the Cougars, but is versatile enough to play at right tackle or on the interior.

The Panthers missed out on Penei Sewell in the first round of the draft but landed Christensen in the third round. Playing left tackle at BYU in 2020, Christensen was PFF’s highest graded collegiate offensive lineman ever. The Panthers expect to be able to use Christensen at both left and right tackle, and potentially at guard as well. Keeping the pocket clean for Sam Darnold will be a huge priority this season, as he was one of the worst passers under duress last season.

Christensen, the BYU product taken in the third round by the Panthers -- who had hoped to drafted Oregon LT Penei Sewell -- is the odds-on favorite to start the 2021 season as Carolina’s left tackle. The team has sought a reliable left tackle since 2013, when Jordan Gross retired. Christensen’s PFF grade of 96 last season was an all-time high as he allowed two pressures on BYU QB Zach Wilson on 293 pass plays. “He comes from that pro-style offense at BYU so he’s done the things that we are asking guys to do,” Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said. “He’s been doing it there. He’s a tackle candidate that can also go inside and play guard. Again, a great, great, great athlete. Intelligence, the whole package.” Carolina’s offensive line was leaky for some of the 2020 season; PFF graded them as the 18th best pass blocking unit. Carolina landing Christensen and WR Terrace Marshall are big wins for Sam Darnold.

Christensen (6’6/302) started for three years at BYU after first serving a two-year LDS mission to New Zealand. Last fall, he posted the best grade of any tackle in the PFF grading era, topping Penei Sewell’s 2019 campaign, and became BYU’s first consensus first-team All-American since Dennis Pitta in 2019. In a tick over 1,400 career pass-pro snaps, Christensen allowed only three sacks and two hurries, showing good technical acumen, with strong hands and soft feet working in concert. Christensen locks in and doesn’t let go in the run game, finishing with nastiness. He went on to stun the draft community by testing as a top-20 OT athlete of all-time at BYU’s pro day, per RAS. Christensen’s 10-foot, four-inch broad jump was the best ever recorded by an offensive lineman in Mockdraftable’s database by three inches. Christensen’s short arms -- measured at a sub-threshold 32 1/4 inches -- can lead to issues against long ends, which he didn’t see much of in Provo, and he gives away leverage when he starts playing too high. But as an athletic specimen that dominated non-Power 5 football, he reminds us a little bit of a shorter-armed Eric Fisher.