Yosh

Nijman

As expected, Johnson and Dalton will miss the game against the Broncos with their injuries. The Panthers do get starting defensive end A’Shawn Robinson, outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney and Josey Jewell back to help the Carolina defense for the Week 8 tilt.

Moton Will now miss a second-straight game with his triceps injury, paving the way for Yosh Nijman to start in Week 7 if he can go. Nijman is also listed as questionable with a knee injury, as the Panthers are currently dealing with multiple injuries along the o-line.

The 6' 7" tackle started 22 of 67 games across four seasons with the Packers and brings needed depth to the exterior offensive line for the Panthers. The Packers have had significant turnover across their offensive line this offseason, making it likely we’ll see the franchise use multiple early picks in the 2024 NFL Draft on big men.

The Packers placed a second-round tender on Nijman earlier this offseason, all but ensuring he’d return to the team in 2023. That became permanent on Monday after the veteran offensive lineman signed his deal on Monday. Nijman has started 21 games for the Packers since 2021 and should be in line for more opportunities this season.

That means Nijman, a mountainous lineman who has started 21 games for Green Bay since the start of the 2021 regular season, will make $4.3 million in 2023. Nijman is entering his age-27 season.

Nijman was an exclusive rights free agent, so this was the only game in town. The 25-year-old contributed only 14 snaps on defense last season, though he was more active on special teams. A mountainous 6-foot-7, the Pack must still believe that Nijman is projectable.

Even if we inflate that pro day time to the 4.95-second range, it’d still be an elite time for an offensive tackle who weighs 324 pounds. Heading into testing, Nijman was considered a late-round prospect, but it’s time to move Nijman up big boards as long as his injury history doesn’t hold him back. In addition to his impressive straight-line speed, Nijman recorded a high-end 4.50-second short shuttle and 114-inch broad jump at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Nijman did so as a 6-foot-7, 324-pounder, which makes the feat more impressive. The big fella didn’t participate in the 40-yard dash, however, or else he might have made even more noise. Regardless, research shows that the short shuttle and cone drills are the most predictive tests for offensive linemen, which bodes well for the Virginia Tech Hokie. Going into the NFL Combine, Nijman was considered a late-round prospect, but maybe he can climb up a round or so after today’s performance.

Nijman has been a four-year contributor for the Hokies since enrolling early in 2015, and 6-foot-7, 314-pound offensive lineman has been the starting left tackle for Virginia Tech whenever he’s been healthy enough to do so. Nijman was given a sixth-round grade coming into the year by Draft Analyst’s Tony Pauline because of his ability and movement skills, but he did suffer a lower-body injury in 2017, and wasn’t as effective in 2018. He currently projects as a late-round pick, but there’s potential for more if teams believe he’s healthy.

Pauline notes that he is someone who “really impressed” him and could rise up draft boards if he turns in a healthy season in 2018. He continued by saying “Nijman has terrific size while showing great agility and movement skills in his game. He has growth potential and is much more than a small-area blocker.” Nijman was sidelined with a lower-body injury in 2017 but was solid when he played. He should be drafted as long as he can stay healthy.