Can Fantasy Football Owners Trust Jonathon Brooks In Week 1 With Chuba Hubbard Healthy?

We break down whether or not you should be starting Jonathon Brooks in Week 1 of the fantasy football season.

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (25) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first quarter during a preseason game at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For a while, it looked like all the momentum in the Carolina Panthers' backfield was behind Jonathon Brooks. However, there has been a shift over the past week, as Chuba Hubbard has returned from injury and Brooks is now missing practice due to soreness.

Generally, soreness wouldn't be a major concern, but when a running back has been limited to just nine carries in NFL seasons due to two ACL tears in the same knee. After he missed another practice on Monday, it's reasonable to be worried about starting him in Week 1.

There is no doubt that the talent and upside are there for Brooks, who was an elite running back prospect, but we have also never seen him be a successful NFL running back, and two ACL tears can derail a running back's trajectory. This is becoming a tough situation heading into the season opener.

Can You Trust Jonathon Brooks In Week 1?

While we don't believe that Brooks is necessarily a bad option in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, whose run defense is still a work in progress, we also aren't opposed to going in a different direction. Even if Brooks were fully healthy and never missed any time, there is still a real chance that Hubbard would be the starter and lead that backfield in Week 1. Brooks dealing with soreness only makes that a more likely reality.

I am actually in this exact situation like many of you, and I'm planning to bench Brooks in Week 1 in favor of JK Dobbins in my flex spot. If you are in a similar situation with a similar option, we would consider going with the other option.

However, when it comes to whether we would rather start Brooks or Hubbard, as long as Brooks is a full-go and not a game-time decision heading into Sunday, we would still go with Brooks over Hubbard in Week 1. Ideally, we wouldn't go with either, but Brooks has more upside.

He was undoubtedly more explosive as a prospect coming out of Texas, and he has looked explosive in training camp this summer. If these two backs are in a full split-backfield, which we are projecting, we'd prefer to go with the more dynamic back with more upside. Predicting the exact split in this backfield is just speculation, which no one has the answer to yet.

We will be taking a wait-and-see approach to this backfield, but neither Brooks nor Hubbard is a terrible option this week, assuming both are active. Nevertheless, it is also very possible that you have a better option on your roster. Make sure you check back tomorrow when we release our official Week 1 rankings.

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