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A New Running Back Added to the Mix for the Panthers?

The Carolina Panthers could see one defensive back make the transition to running back

Nothing about the 2020 NFL season is going to be normal. In a time where we are living through a global pandemic, nothing can operate as what we know to be normal, even football.

Teams across the NFL have had to adjust their practice plans and strategically practice certain groups of players with each other to try and reduce the risk of spreading or contracting the virus. 

With the threat that the virus poses, you have to plan ahead and prepare for the worst case scenarios to happen, such as a key starting receiver, lineman, or linebacker being ruled out due to testing positive. Panthers head coach Matt Rhule mentioned earlier this month about the team cross-training a few players just incase they become short on numbers at certain position groups. On Thursday, Rhule talked about one player who was seeing reps at running back - defensive back Myles Hartsfield.

Photo courtesy of Panthers.com

Photo courtesy of Panthers.com

“He’s taken reps on offense every day so far. He had a nice touchdown Monday or Tuesday, had a nice touchdown during one of the flood periods down the right sideline," Rhule said. "You know, Myles is one of the guys who I recruited and he was a great tailback in high school and went to college and played defense. We’ve been repping him at defense, we’ve been repping him at tailback. He’s a really good athlete, so he’s someone that, as we try to fill numbers at different positions, just gives us a little flexibility to go back and forth and that’s part of the thing with this team this year. With COVID, with the expanded practice squad, guys who can play on offense and on defense have a lot, lot, lot more versatility. So Myles is someone that can do that and I think he’ll do it pretty well.”

Hartsfield signed with the Panthers as an undrafted free agent following the 2020 NFL Draft and although the initial intention was to play him in the secondary, there could be more opportunity for him on the other side of the ball.

During his four years as a starting safety at Ole Miss, he accounted for 167 tackles, eight tackles for loss, one sack, and three interceptions.

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