Grading the 2021 Carolina Panthers Running Backs
The Panthers' offense struggled to be a balanced attack nearly all season long. A big part of that stems from the struggles they had in the running game. Today, we take a look at how each of the Panthers' top three backs played this season and hand out some grades.
Overall Grade for the RBs: C+
The Panthers finished 20th in the NFL averaging 108.4 yards per game and 23rd in the league with 4 yards per rush attempt. It's not that the Panthers are short on talent in the running back room by any means. It's more of byproduct of an insufficient offensive line. The Panthers had 12 different starting combinations up front and even when their "best five" were on the field, it wasn't very good. The backs didn't have much room to run and plays got shut down before they even had a chance to do anything with the ball. That said, all blame can't be placed on the line although much of it is on them. With McCaffrey in and out of the lineup, rookie running back Chuba Hubbard got some run as well as Ameer Abdullah who was claimed off waivers from the Vikings in Week 7. Each had their moments but it was nothing spectacular.
Now, let's recap how each of the top three running backs for the Panthers did in 2020.
Christian McCaffrey: B
Stats: 99 carries, 442 yards, 1 TD | 37 receptions, 343 yards , 1 TD (7 games)
When healthy, the Panthers offense was much better. It even made Sam Darnold look like a decent enough quarterback, but the moment McCaffrey went down in the Thursday night game against Houston, the offense disappeared. McCaffrey was Darnold's security blanket and having him on the field hid some of his deficiencies. Despite playing in just ten games over the past two seasons, GM Scott Fitterer says he has no intentions of trading him. I'd grade him a little higher but availability means something.
Chuba Hubbard: C-
Stats: 172 carries, 612 yards, 5 TDs | 25 receptions, 174 yards, 1 TD (17 games)
Hubbard really struggled early in the season but had a breakout game in Week 5 against the Eagles, notching his first 100-yard game of his career. He rushed for 101 yards on 24 carries and also caught a season-high five passes for 33 yards. Not only does Hubbard have to do a better job of hitting the hole, but he must improve in pass protection and catching passes out of the backfield. He only caught 67% of passes thrown his way and for a running back, that's extremely low considering most passes are dump offs, check downs, or screens.
Ameer Abdullah: C-
Stats: 44 carries, 136 yards | 35 receptions, 272 yards, 1 TD (11 games)
Abdullah turned out to be a pretty nice find for the Panthers mid-season. Royce Freeman held the RB3 at the beginning of the season but they needed more explosiveness behind McCaffrey and Freeman wasn't going to provide that. Abdullah had 11 touches for 66 all-purpose yards in the road win over Atlanta in Week 8 and if it weren't for him, the Panthers would have struggled to move the ball that day. He didn't do much in the running game, averaging just 3.1 yards per rush but his ability to be a weapon in the passing game could be enough for the Panthers to consider bringing him back in 2022.
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