Chuba Hubbard has faced plenty of opposition during his time with the Carolina Panthers before operating as their clear lead back to start the 2024 season.
When Hubbard was drafted in fourth round of the 2021 draft, the Panthers already had all-world running back Christian McCaffrey entrenched as starter. When McCaffrey missed time with injury in Hubbard’s first year, the rookie performed adequately, but didn’t do enough to cement himself as McCaffrey’s future successor.
Heading into Hubbard’s second season the Panthers signed D’Onta Foreman, and Hubbard was on the wrong side of a 2:1 split for touches after McCaffrey was traded to the 49ers. After the 2022 season the Panthers let Foreman leave in free agency, but signed Miles Sanders to a large free-agent contract. Even with such a large discrepancy in salary between Carolina’s two RBs, it was debatable who was the more talented player from the first day of Sanders’ time with the Panthers. After Sanders was hurt in Week 6 of 2023, Hubbard took over as the Panthers’ lead RB and never looked back. At the end of the season, Hubbard found himself as the PPR RB28 compared to Sanders’ finish at RB50.
With the strong showing Hubbard had in 2023 from Week 6 onwards, it seemed like he had earned his chance to lead the backfield outright in 2024. But the Panthers had other plans.
In a somewhat surprising move, the Panthers selected Jonathon Brooks – the near-universally top-ranked RB in the class – in the second round of the NFL draft this past April.
Heralded as a three-down workhorse, Brooks was supposed to relegate Hubbard to a backup role once again. The one caveat with Brooks was that he tore his ACL in November, and there were legitimate concerns that he would not be ready to start the season. Those concerns proved to be warranted, as Brooks started the season on IR, providing Hubbard yet another opportunity to show Carolina his worth.
Hubbard has not disappointed to this point, despite once again being surrounded by one of the least talented rosters in the league. Through eight weeks of the season, Hubbard currently ranks as the PPR RB11.
Since Brooks was drafted, his debut has been pushed back several times. It was first reported that he could be ready for the start of training camp, but there was a chance he would not play in the first few games of the season.
I’m old enough to remember when RapSheet said on draft day that Jonathon Brooks will be ready by July 1 for training camp
Now he’s reportedly on the PUP/NFI list and will miss at least the first four games pic.twitter.com/qkeunCdtxj
— Edgar Salmingo, Jr. ✌🏽 (@PanthersAnalyst) August 27, 2024
Then it was said Brooks would miss the first few games, and there was even a chance he could be placed on IR. Then he hit IR, but was eligible to return in Week 5. The first six games of the season came and went, and there was still no sign of Brooks.
Panthers designated rookie running back Jonathon Brooks to return from the non-football injury list.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 16, 2024
The looming return of Brooks has been ever present in the minds of fantasy managers and fans alike, and it appears closer than ever after the Panthers opened his 21-day window to return on October 16th. Brooks’ three-week window to be activated will come to a close next Wednesday, and there are many reports stating that he is ready to make his NFL debut in Week 9 against the Saints.
#Panthers HC Dave Canales on the plan for Jonathon Brooks:
“We gotta look at him the full week. Again — Jonathon first. Thinking about him, making sure that he’s confident and ready to go. So, we’re gonna stack up a few more days here before we make that decision.” pic.twitter.com/DNKhiCSEr4
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) October 30, 2024
In a situation that still has plenty of moving parts, how should fantasy managers be playing the Carolina backfield? And is there any chance Brooks may find himself atop the team’s depth chart before the season is over?
To save any suspense, when asking whether Hubbard can remain an RB1 for the rest of the season and if Brooks may find himself as the Panthers’ lead back in 2024, the answer to both questions could end up being “yes.”
Hubbard will be a free agent after the season, and the Panthers need as much draft capital as they can get after making little headway in their rebuild this year. The narrative Carolina is trying to spin to the media may be more accurate concerning 2021 top-10 pick Jaycee Horn (who is still under contract for 2025), but we have to believe that Hubbard is absolutely available.
Sources: Despite teams calling about them, the #Panthers have no plans on trading CB Jaycee Horn or RB Chuba Hubbard.
“They’re not having a firesale,” a source said. pic.twitter.com/YVzIumLwa0
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) October 29, 2024
In his Week 9 Zero RB Universe article, Shawn Siegele suggested that the Chiefs should attempt to trade for Travis Etienne following some struggles from Kareem Hunt. Hubbard also should be included as a potential target that could provide a huge boost at an area of need for the defending Super Bowl champions. We should not just limit Hubbard’s landing spot to Kansas City, as any contending team that suffers an injury at RB in Week 9 (or maybe even the Cowboys?) could come calling before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
With a soft matchup against New Orleans in Week 9, it would not be a shock for the Panthers to feature Hubbard heavily in an audition for RB-needy teams. Another tactic the team could take is to hold Hubbard out entirely to preserve his health, something the Panthers did with Diontae Johnson prior to his trade this week.
Carolina seems intent on easing Brooks into their game plan. Even if they trade Hubbard, Sanders is still on the roster to ease Brooks’ workload as the rookie ramps up this season. With the Panthers filling the role of the NFL’s premier punching bag in 2024, seeing Brooks deliver consistently in negative game scripts against a tough RB schedule may be asking too much at this point. In redraft leagues, Brooks may hold his most value if/when it looks like he will be emerging as the team’s lead back. That may prove an opportune time for fantasy managers to bundle him in a trade to acquire an every-week starter at an area of need. If choosing to gamble on the rookie, he could return value as a decent FLEX play.
In the event that Hubbard does not get moved next week, it would be safe to assume that he will continue earning the largest share of the RB workload in Carolina for the rest of the season. With Brooks in line for a workhorse role (on what will hopefully be a more competitive team) in 2025, putting as many miles as possible on the RB that is likely to move to a new team during the offseason would be a smart long-term business decision. If that scenario were to play out, Hubbard would likely end up in the area of a low-end RB2 for the rest of the season, with Brooks being a risky FLEX play.
Regardless of how things shake out over the next week, we should feel confident that 2024 will give us enough of a look at Brooks to determine his future value for both redraft and dynasty leagues.
