It’s time to take the bubble wrap off Taylor

Moton Ready or not www.panthersfootballauthentic.com , but Taylor Moton will likely be starting at right tackle for the injured Daryl Williams when the Panthers kick off the 2018 regular season against the Dallas Cowboys. Williams has been diagnosed with a torn MCL and dislocated patella and currently does not have a timetable for his return. Until the Panthers share more information on Williams’ rehab, all we can do at this point is speculate as to when he’ll be back, so let’s speculate! Dr. David Chao at National Football Post said this in 2015 about MCL injuries:Dr. Chao then noted the Broncos Shane Ray had suffered a high grade MCL sprain and would miss 4-6 weeks. This is generally consistent with published information from the University of California San Francisco which says the MCL “usually responds very well to non-surgical treatment” and a Grade 3 tear usually takes four to eight weeks to heal. I’m not a doctor, but let’s assume Williams will be out eight weeks since he also had the issue with the patella. That puts his return sometime at the end of September which is Week 4 of the NFL season. Carolina conveniently has a bye during Week 4 which means Daryl might only miss the team’s first three games. (Or he could be out a lot longer, we just don’t know yet.)An eight week recovery leaves Taylor Moton starting at right tackle against the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons, and Cincinnati Bengals. Each of these teams had good defenses last year with Atlanta having the No. 8 scoring defense (19.7 PPG), Dallas the No. 13 (20.8 PPG) Carolina Panthers T-Shirt , and Cincinnati the league-average No. 16 (21.8 PPG), per ESPN. Frankly, I’m excited to see what Moton will do as a starter against quality opponents. I’m on record as saying the Panthers wasted Moton’s rookie season last year by giving the second round pick just 64 offensive snaps while Amini Silatolu somehow played 256 snaps. It’s time to take off Taylor’s bubble wrap. The best case scenario, of course, is Moton holds his own as a fill-in starter and Williams returns somewhere around the Week 4 bye. We can all then breathe a sigh of relief in knowing Moton can provide solid depth for the rest of the year and potentially start next year if Daryl Williams can’t be re-signed. And who knows, maybe Moton steps in at left guard later this season if he looks good early on? Crazier things have happened. We saw virtually nothing from Taylor Moton during his rookie season. He’s an enigma. He’s a mystery. He’s all potential with no real track record. There will be no more hiding in 2018. The spotlight on Taylor Moton will be bright. Let’s hope he’s ready for prime time.4th and Short Podcast: The Panthers won the war but lost the injury battle Brian, Brad, and Jon review the Panthers week one victory over the Dallas Cowboys. We touch on the injuries to Greg Olsen and Daryl Williams Carolina Panthers Hats , who we expect to replace them, and how their absences will affect the offense. We talk about what we liked most about the defense’s strong performance, with the pass rush being the spotlight. We share our thoughts on Norv Turner’s offense, how it differed from Mike Shula, and how the Panthers still found a way to turtle up with the ball late in the game. I was having some connection issues during the recording, so apologies if there are any choppy parts. I tried to cut out places where the connection messed things up, but a couple spots may have avoided my detection. Join us later in the week as we have two very special guests to help us preview Panthers vs. Falcons. Click here if the embed doesn’t work for you.