Carolina Panthers select NC State OT Ikem Ekwonu with No. 6 pick in 2022 NFL Draft
As expected, Ikem “Ickey” Ekwonu didn’t have to wait long to shake Roger Goodell’s hand.
Decked out in a white suit, trimmed with the colors of the Nigerian flag, Ekwonu, the offensive tackle from N.C. State, was selected No. 6 overall by the Carolina Panthers.
Ekwonu becomes the 19th Wolfpack player to be drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. He’s the third N.C. State offensive lineman to be selected in the first round. He was the first offensive player off the board during the NFL Draft, going to his hometown team. Ekwonu played at Providence Day School in Charlotte, 16 minutes away from Bank of America Stadium.
Surrounded in the green room by his family, Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren, offensive line coach John Garrison and his high school coach Adam Hastings, Ekwonu was projected to go anywhere from first overall to No. 10.
Ekwonu (6-4, 320 pounds) started every game last season at left tackle. The Charlotte native was a consensus first-team All-American, the first for N.C. State since defensive end Bradley Chubb in 2017. Ekwonu was just the third consensus All-American in school history.
Ekwonu led the team with 67 pancake blocks and 18 knockdowns. He allowed just two sacks in 829 snaps. A prep wrestler, Ekwonu credits that background translating to the field for his style of play.
“Wrestling, there’s no hiding,” Ekwonu said. “Wrestling is super up close, super personal. You have to have the mindset that you’re going to be a dog on the mat or on the field, you just have to be a dog. You’re not going to get punked by anyone, you’re not going to get moved by anyone.”
He started seven games as a true freshman in 2019 and never looked back. Over the past two years, he has started 24 games, playing both guard and tackle in 2020.
N.C. State coach Dave Doeren discovered Ekwonu at Providence Day High School in Charlotte. The first time Doeren saw him in person, it was a hit on an interception, not a block, that caught Doeren’s attention.
“He went down the field and just drilled a guy,” Doeren said. “And I’m, like, man, this guy’s gonna play and I came back and told the staff, I said, that guy will start here as a freshman on the offensive line.”
Ekwonu was the first true freshman to start at offensive tackle since Robert Crisp in 2010. He earned the Philip Rivers Award for Rookie of the Year and was named to several freshman All-American teams. Those 37 pancake blocks he recorded led the team and he was the Co-recipient of the Wolfpack’s John Ritcher Offensive Lineman of the Year award.
The last N.C. State offensive lineman to go in the first round was Garrett Bradbury (No. 18 overall to Vikings) in 2019.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 8:49 PM with the headline "Carolina Panthers select NC State OT Ikem Ekwonu with No. 6 pick in 2022 NFL Draft."
