The Carolina Panthers didn’t sign over $153 million for a pair of stiffs.
Pro Football Focus recently released their list of the NFL’s top 32 guards entering the 2024 campaign. In at No. 10 is new Panthers right guard Robert Hunt.
Contributor Thomas Valentine writes:
Hunt’s numbers in 2023 were exceptional. He allowed just five pressures, the second fewest of any guard in the NFL, and surrendered the lowest pressure rate (1.3%). Those numbers were boosted by a quarterback-friendly offense predicated on Tua Tagovailoa getting the ball out fast, but Hunt still held up his end of the bargain.
His reward was a five-year, $100 million contract from the Carolina Panthers. Hunt will now spend the next five years protecting Bryce Young. His 77.1 overall grade in 2023 ranked sixth among guards.
That grade is somewhat of a sample size, as the 6-foot-6, 335-pounder missed seven games due to a hamstring injury. He was, however, able to return for the regular-season finale as well as the Miami’s Wild Card Round loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Hunt is joined by his fellow starter and the 29th hog molly of the list Damien Lewis, who also inked a lucrative deal with the Panthers this offseason:
Lewis was a starter in his four years with the Seattle Seahawks, before earning a four-year, $53 million contract with the Carolina Panthers in the offseason.
Lewis’ 59.6 PFF overall grade in 2023 was the second lowest of his career, but he has earned a 68.0 pass-blocking grade over the past two seasons — which is more than respectable. He’ll need to be at his best to protect Bryce Young in Carolina moving forward.
