In the rookie class this year Gregory was one of the most accomplished offensive linemen and also the most experienced one. During his final 3 seasons at Missouri he started at rgight guard. He also had memorable junior season. Then the Tigers topped in the top ten nationally in scoring offense and also total offense.

May be the three years strong game tape were less than expected by Gregory, but it was enough for the Panthers to track him.

Gregory said, “The Panthers showed the most interest towards the end of the draft.”

When his agent Joseph Wright recomemnded for Carolina Panthers, he made immediate decision of joining the club.

He said, “[The first couple weeks] were hectic, just trying to learn a new offense and new plays and different techniques.”

A 6-foot-4, 337-pounder from Pittsburgh, Spencer was the Texans’ 2006 third-round draft pick. He earned a job in the preseason as the starting left tackle, but he suffered a severe leg injury during the second game of the 2006 season and hasn’t played since.

For the first time in his NFL career Jeff Otah hit the practice fields in Charlotte today. Otah, the Panthers second first round pick of April’s draft, ended the rehabilitation of a nagging ankle injury he had since last fall while playing for Pittsburgh. Otah missed the entire post-draft minicamp earlier in the month, as well as practices last week, but has been working with the Panther’s trainers and has gotten back to 100%.

“It felt good to finally get out there,” Otah said. “You know what you’re doing, but you’ve got to get it in your head a little faster so you can react.”

The time that Otah has had off has allowed him to really get to know the Panther’s play book and be able to step right in at right tackle and begin practicing. Otah is expected to be the starter at the right tackle position next season, and the time he spends practicing and learning now, means everything come September.

“Most of its mental assignments” said Panthers Head Coach John Fox on Otah’s summer school activities “he’s digesting all the protections, the run schemes, the calls. This is the first time physically where he has had to come and and execute that.”

Otah still has much to learn before training camp starts in late July, but all indications say he will be ready to step up and justify the decision to trade away next year’s number one pick to get him.

In other news, John Fox has also said that last year’s second round draft pick, Dewayne Jarrett, has looked “impressive” in recent OTA’s, and that he is showing signs that he could see a lot more action come the regular season. Many people, including myself, thought that Jarrett’s performance last season was very disappointing, collecting only 73 yards on six receptions. But we have to remember that the learning curve for wide receivers in the NFL is much steeper than most positions outside of quaterback. Maybe Jarrett will even be able to compete with free agent pickups Mushin Muhammad and D. J. Hackett for a starting role.

Also I just want to say that ESPN’s John Clayton needs to try knowing the stuff he is reporting on. Clayton wrote some article last week that mentioned Carolina’s quarterback situation, and the only thing he felt he needed to mention about Matt Moore, was that he was an undrafted rookie picked up by the Cowboy’s, not the fact that he went 2-1 in starting the last three games for Carolina. Then today Clayton was trying to say that Steve Smith is going to be 30 this fall. Really, I mean come on, how hard is it to look up a guy’s age!

Probable Starters: Travelle Wharton, Toniu Fonoti

The major focal point of the Panthers this offseason was the offensive line. Due to a poor running game in 2007, combined with a desire to get back to the football that lead them to the Superbowl in 2003, Head Coach John Fox and General Manager Marty Hurney decided to overhaul the offensive line. This overhaul began with the release of guard Mike Whale and center Justin Hartwig in a move to get larger on the offensive side of the ball, and they certainly did.

It wasn’t certain exactly what the line was going to look like until after the draft and free agent pickups, but by May, it became clear where Carolina was going on the offensive line. By selecting tackle Jeff Otah, Carolina showed that they planned to move Jordan Gross to the left side of the OL in order to make way for Otah (you can see my analysis on the OTs in our Position Analysis Categories). This move meant that last year’s starting left tackle Travelle Wharton is going to move inside and play left guard. Right now, with Wharton and Gross. the left side of the Panthers line looks very solid in both protecting Jake Delhomme’s blind side, and clearing a path for Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams.

While the left guard slot appears to be locked up, the right guard position is wide open for completion. and is where all three of the Panthers free agent guard pickups are likely to compete. Out of the three guards signed- Milford Brown, Keydrick Vincent, and Toniu Fonoti- all three of them are above 325 pounds, clearly showing that Carolina fulfilled their goal of getting bigger on the OL.

These three will compete with Evan Mathis and Geoff Hangartner for the starting job, and though Vincent is ahead of Fonoti on the depth chart, I think Fonoti will be able to beat out the competition. Fonoti has had some considerable weight problems, and at one point was rumored to be one of the heaviest football players of all time, getting up around 390, which caused him to be traded to the Vikings from the Chargers in 2005. Fonoti played extremely well as a rookie for San Diego and looked poised to have a promising career, but he kept struggling to maintain his weight and was eventually traded to the Vikings, and then Atlanta, where he was buried on the depth chart. Now Fonoti seems to be resurrecting his career. There are reports from players that Fonoti has been working very hard to get his weight under control and is looking very lean and fit. If this is true I think Fonoti will be able to start, and perhaps, get back to the level he was at as a rookie. With the resurrected Fonoti on the right side, he and Otah should open up big holes for Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams, contributing greatly to Carolina’s run game next season. Fonoti has the potential to be a very big pickup in Carolina, but we will have to wait until training camp to see which one of Carolina’s guards will step up and take the reigns.

Overall Position Grade: B-