The Carolina Panthers Have a Big Problem in the Backfield

There are two problems with the Carolina Panthers, at least as it has operated over the last two years. First, it's not an offense that will ever be a high-volume, aggressive passing attack. They don't remotely have the weapons for that, and Bryce Young's not that kind of quarterback.

Second, they prioritize running the ball almost at all costs. They want to feed the running backs and rely on them behind a stout offensive line, but that stubbornness and reliance on a less successful way of moving the ball bites them.

Despite Young's excellent training camp and the rise of Tetairoa McMillan and even Xavier Legette, that first point isn't likely to change this year. That brings us to the second point, within which there is a major problem: the Panthers' backfield is not very good.

Panthers' backfield doesn't have a true star running back to rely on

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (25) during Fanfest | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For now, Chuba Hubbard is the RB1. He's coming off a disappointing season in which he got hurt, was replaced by Rico Dowdle, and then relegated to the bench for a huge chunk of games. He was quite good in 2024, though.

Hubbard's back as the lead, though, with the finally healthy Jonathon Brooks backing him up. Unfortunately, that's not a recipe for success. Bleacher Report just ranked all NFL position groups, and among running backs, Hubbard was shockingly low.

Hubbard found himself in the "replacement level" tier, ranked 52nd. For comparison, here are some of his peers in that group:

Kyle Monangai
Keaton Mitchell
Jordan Mason
Jacorey Croskey-Merritt
Zach Charbonnet
Rico Dowdle
Samaje Perine

That's not a good group to be in because they're primarily backups. Hubbard was ranked 52nd. Now, his placement in that tier and his rank of 52 is too harsh. He's better than that, but we can't pretend after 2025 that it's by a wide margin.

Jonathon Brooks was not ranked in any tier, which doesn't mean he's so bad he's not worth ranking. It would be impossible to determine where to rank him since he's appeared in three games and recovered from two ACL tears on the same knee during his tenure so far.

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) during Fanfest | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

He looks healthy, and he looks like a potential star in the making, but it's all a wild card. So, to recap the unenviable situation the Panthers are in, they have a borderline backup starting and an injury-prone unknown backing him up.

That is horrible news for a team that wants to run the ball and struggles to move the ball through the air consistently.

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