CHARLOTTE — Every time Dave Canales talks about his team, he talks about it like a construction project.

It's not just that he uses the word "build" a lot — though he does — but everything happens in stages.

So the way they put together last year's offensive line, and the way they continue to add to it, also informs the way he wants to put together the roster as a whole.

So, with the offensive line as an example, there is a — for lack of a better word — blueprint for how they want to put the whole thing together.

The work done to create the line they have now was intentional but also highly necessary.

The 65 sacks they allowed in 2023 (when they used seven different left guards and eight different right guards) prevented them from establishing anything on offense or knowing what they had in Bryce Young.

So they invested heavily in Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis in free agency, and they elevated the entire product. Now, with first-round pick Ikem Ekwonu at left tackle, second-rounder Taylor Moton at right tackle, and a former No. 33 overall pick Austin Corbett in the middle, they're pedigreed and deep.

With mid-round picks like Brady Christensen and Chandler Zavala in backup roles, along with former sixth-rounder Cade Mays and free agent Yosh Nijman, they have a solid group upon which to build the rest of the offense.

"There's not a lot of worry on the offensive line, but the cool part is when we start to look at, and when we evaluate players in the draft and in free agency, we always evaluate them with our roster in mind," Canales said. "So when you look at the two-deep group at offensive line, we're looking at those linemen and say, 'OK, is this guy going to beat out Chandler? Is this guy going to beat out D-Lew or Rob Hunt?

"We have some good players to compare them to, so it just kind of makes us put our mind to really see who is this player that we're getting. Not just not just the skill level but also the personality of the guy. Look at the room he's coming into; this guy's going to have to have some depth of character to be able to challenge the group that we put together, so, and that's what I love.

"I love trying to build out rooms like that so that when we bring our rookies in or bring a free agent in, they hit the ground, and they're like, I got work to do, and they feel like they're in good company and just the competition it brings the whole thing."

The mix of ages, experiences, and contract status makes that group effective, as well.

Knowing they have players who can come in and start like Mays (eight starts last year, 15 total), Christensen (six starts last year, 30 total), Zavala (two starts last year, nine total), and Nijman (three starts last year, 25 total) is a good insurance policy, but having proven starters is better. And the way they're staggered in terms of contract also allows flexibility.

Ekwonu is in the fourth year of his rookie deal, but they have until May to pick up the fifth-year option so there's a degree of cost-certainty there. General manager Dan Morgan has said he wants to extend Ekwonu, and Canales described him as an ascending player who benefitted from the guidance of coaches Harold Goodwin and Joe Gilbert.

"I think Ickey showed us he's a dominant run blocker," Canales said. "I think he showed us that he is very reliable in the past in pass protection. I think he'd be the first to tell you, cleaning up some hand placement things, some footwork stuff, those are all goals of his. But I think we've got our left tackle.

"I love playing with having Ickey over there and having T-Mo on the right side. I feel pretty good about just playing ball against pretty much anybody."

Moton's situation is an interesting one. He'll turn 31 during the preseason, and he's in the final year of his contract. The Panthers did not restructure his deal this offseason, which left him with a big cap number but retained flexibility for the future.

So they could look to add a tackle in the draft to have an heir, but Moton's also still playing at a high level.

He's been steady Eddie here for a long time, so we're counting on him doing that again," Canales said of Moton. "I was so glad he came back in and finished with us in Atlanta, and I just look around the league, and I don't see a lot of veteran guys battling to get back out on the field in a year where you're out of the playoffs with three games left, and T-Mo wanted to be out there with his guys and finish the season, finish what he started.

"But he still plays really good football. He's an excellent pass protector. He's great on the front side of those runs. He moves people. Those things are not apparent. Like, we love the offensive line."

Lewis is under contract through 2027 and Hunt through 2028, so those blocks are in place.

Beyond those guys, eight of their 13 linemen are on one-year deals, which allows the team to maintain some flexibility for future years.

Now, the challenge is implementing that type of work across the board.

You saw them do it in free agency on defense, adding linemen Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown III to a group that will see Pro Bowler Derrick Brown return from injury. Those three qualified NFL linemen will raise the level for the entire group, create competition for roster spots and playing time, and help construct the framework for what they need in the draft or in the future.

As they head into the draft next week, they'll look to continue to add parts and build the roster, with hopes of replicating the success they found last year on the offensive line.