Will Chuba Hubbard Outlast Jonathan Brooks' Fantasy Football Hype Train?
In this story:
There are depth chart battles underway across all 32 NFL training camps. It has fantasy managers alike trying to play Nostradamus, predicting outcomes accurately for a profitable advantage. One key depth chart battle is found in Charlotte, North Carolina. Chuba Hubbard is working to fend off Jonathan Brooks. Surely, if anyone takes over this backfield, they will reap the ultimate reward.
Fantasy Football Outlook
Over Dave Canales' play-calling career, he has brought his ball carriers tremendous success. His running backs are gaining an average of 12.4 spots over ADP to end-of-season ranking in fantasy football since 2023. That fact features Rico Dowdle's 2025 season, where he jumped from RB56 to RB18, and Chuba Hubbard's 2024 season, when he jumped from RB42 to RB15.
Dave Canales has been GREAT for Fantasy Football Running Backs.
— Tom Carelli | Fantasy Football (@TCarelliTakes) August 5, 2026
The only mild concern? Chuba Hubbard stands out as a minority FALLER from ADP to End-Season Result (2025).
Jonathan Brooks should be trending upwards.
Chuba Hubbard has high upside, but should NOT be drafted above… pic.twitter.com/0vGnT7MAXz
The Panthers have started Jonathan Brooks at running back in both of their preseason games to date. This is mostly due to Hubbard's hamstring tweak last week. Hubbard is expected to be just fine and a full-go in Week 1.
The Panthers have implied that Brooks will have a chance to take a stab at the RB1 job. That will not happen come Week 1. Given Hubbard's pass-protection skill set, the team has extra confidence in him. Not to mention, Brooks is coming back from a catastrophic injury. He is not a player who should be expected to handle a heavy workload.
My latest projections have confidence in Hubbard with a 50% share of the rushing offense. Brooks is projected to get 31%, then 12% to Bryce Young, and 7% to Trevor Etienne. Hubbard is my RB22, and Brooks is the RB41.
Consensus ADP mildly agrees with the sentiment that Hubbard is the starter, but much narrower than I do. He is the RB1 per the Panthers latest depth chart release. However, consensus ADP ranks Hubbard as RB29 and Brooks as RB33.
Honestly, Brooks has probably risen above fair value. He is rated above starting NFL running backs such as Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Aaron Jones. Brooks is also ranked higher than RJ Harvey, who resides in a much better offense in a similar dual-threat role.
There are virtually no statistics to go off of regarding Brooks' upside potential. He has two career NFL games. Brooks is a 2nd-round NFL draft pick, but considering his injury and its evident risk, that does not mean he lives up to that draft value.
The output on Brooks may be very volatile this season. While he is said to look very good in camp, that is all hearsay. Until he takes the football field, we cannot truly know. As noted above, Brooks has risen too high in ADP. He is a player with evident risk in an uncertain offense with an average offensive line.
At that ADP range of RB30-35, a fantasy manager is better off with the options below, which offer equally high upside and much less uncertainty.
- RJ Harvey (RB35) — Handcuff/third-down Kamara-style back to one of the higher injury risks in the NFL, JK Dobbins.
- Kyle Monangai (RB36) — 50/50% split in an elite rushing offense.
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt (RB37) — Commanders RB1 with Jayden Daniels back healthy.
As for Hubbard, the team is unlikely to quit him at any point. Despite Dowdle's success in 2025, the team still allowed Hubbard to drastically cut into his workload.
In Weeks 9-11, Dowdle had over 83% of the touches compared to Hubbard. From Week 12 onward, Hubbard cruised up to a 40% backfield share. There is certainly no saying that Brooks becomes what Dowdle had displayed. Especially given the fact that Dowdle's role increased amid Hubbard's early-season injury.
At ADP, Hubbard is more than fair value. He is not the highest-upside pick, but he will provide quality output and is very capable of meeting ADP, hence the early X post highlighting Canales' historic success working with running backs.
More Fantasy Sports On SI News:
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.