The Carolina Panthers may have a crowded backfield on paper, but ESPN’s Mike Clay sees one spot as the team’s clearest trouble area: running back.
Clay pointed to the Panthers’ running back room as their biggest weakness heading into the next stretch, and his concern comes down to one word - uncertainty. Chuba Hubbard is back after what Clay called a rough 2025 season, one in which Hubbard dealt with injuries and ineffectiveness while losing lead-back duties to Rico Dowdle. With Dowdle gone, the Panthers are left trying to sort out the rest of the rotation around a group that still has plenty to prove.
That group includes Jonathon Brooks, the 2024 second-round pick who has barely been on the field. Brooks has appeared in just three NFL games, and his career has already been interrupted by two torn ACLs. Carolina drafted him after he tore his right ACL in his final season at Texas, then watched him make his NFL debut in the middle of his rookie year in 2024 before he tore the same ACL again in his third game.
There is still optimism inside the building. Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik has been encouraged by what he’s seen from Brooks so far, and Brooks is clearly trying to put the injuries behind him.
"He looked great out there yesterday," Idzik said on May 27. "He's attacking and everything he does, and then there'll just be continued dialogue with him of saying, 'Hey, here's what we need out of you.'
Let us know too if there are other ways to feature your skill set, because I love the two-way street from player to coach, from coach to player, to make sure that they're communicating with us. You guys have ownership in this offense, too.
I want to make sure we're highlighting everything that you do."
The Panthers also added 2025 fourth-round pick Trevor Etienne, giving the room another young option. Hubbard and Etienne are both back from last season, and Carolina signed AJ Dillon in free agency as well.
Still, the question hanging over this group is how it all comes together. Clay wrote that the backfield has “hope” to be solid, but its lack of proven production makes it an obvious concern. That matters because Carolina will need the run game to carry real weight next season, especially with the passing game likely not built to be explosive.
Hubbard’s 511 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown last season will need to look a lot better in 2026 if the Panthers want to get back to the playoffs. How Brooks fits into the mix - and whether he can stay healthy enough to matter - will be one of the key things to watch in training camp and preseason.
In Other News...
Bryce Young Debate Just Took Another Turn For Panthers Fans
Bryce Youngs future in Carolina has been one of the leagues most debated quarterback topics, and the conversation got another push this week when former Panthers general manager Marty Hurney voiced confidence in the former No. 1 pick. Youngs record as a starter has left plenty of room for skepticism, but he has also piled up more than 8,000 passing yards and 49 touchdowns since arriving in Carolina, enough production to keep the argument alive about what he can become with the right support around him.
Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik added to that optimism by pointing to Youngs competitiveness and his ability to deliver in critical moments. Even with the questions that still follow him, Youngs first appearance on the NFLs Top 100 list at No. 98 suggests the league is starting to take notice of his progress. The bigger issue now is whether Carolina sees enough consistency to make a longer-term commitment, or whether this remains a wait-and-see situation heading into the offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Got Linked To A Bryce Young Backup Plan
Bryce Youngs uneven start has kept the Panthers in the conversation any time quarterback speculation comes up, and the latest round of chatter points to Carolina once again being linked to a possible backup plan. The idea is not hard to understand: the franchise still needs to sort out what it has at the position, and any hint of another young quarterback with upside is going to draw attention.
One name being floated around the league is a former top pick whose tools still intrigue evaluators even though the results have been mixed. The appeal is obvious for a team that is still searching for stability under center, but the real question is whether Carolina would see enough value to make a move and try to unlock a different kind of talent than the one already in the room. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Young Is Giving Panthers Fans Real Hope For 2026
Bryce Youngs rise has given Carolina something it has not had in a while: real reason to look past the present and imagine a better 2026. Since returning to the starting lineup in the middle of the 2024 season, Young has trended upward, and the Panthers have ridden that improvement all the way to their first playoff appearance since 2017 and their first NFC South title since 2015.
The optimism is easy to understand, because Young looks like a quarterback whose best football may still be ahead of him. Still, the next step is about more than flashes, and the questions around consistency have not disappeared, especially with his limited history of big-yardage outings. If he keeps building on this stretch, Carolinas outlook gets a lot more interesting. [Read more 🡒]