The Carolina Panthers have already played two preseason games. As a result, we have some clarity with most of the position groups ahead of the 2026 season.
However, the running back room is not one of those position groups. Nobody knows how that unit will perform in 2026. Will Chuba Hubbard hold off Jonathon Brooks and keep the starting role? Or will Brooks prove he can handle a full workload after back-to-back ACL injuries?
The depth is also a big question. Guys like A.J. Dillon, Anthony Tyus III, and Miles Davis have a big opportunity this offseason, but none of them have been able to keep any momentum. The running game was abysmal against the Bills in preseason Week 1, ending with just 61 total yards.
Even Brooks didn’t look great in his first preseason game. The hope was that Brooks would show he deserves the RB1 spot, but he definitely didn’t do that against the Bills. Naturally, some have been worried about the running back room since that performance.
If you’re one of those people, you should feel a little better after Wednesday.
Panthers’ Ground Game Shines at Joint Practice
The Panthers are down in Jacksonville this week for joint practices with the Jaguars. The teams will practice together and then play a game on Friday night.
On Wednesday, the offense again got off to a slow start, but the running backs ended up flipping the momentum. Brooks, Dillon, and Trevor Etienne, specifically, had strong showings against a respectable Jaguar defense.
“Jonathon [Brooks] looked fantastic going downhill. AJ [Dillon] had a couple of really nice runs. Trevor [Etienne] was bouncing in and out of there,” head coach Dave Canales said. “And this defense, they were hitting them pretty good. I just saw the war of attrition really start to play out in a positive way for us in our run game.”
Well, this is a great sign. The Panthers’ running backs did not look “fantastic” at all against the Bills, so hopefully that was just a flukey performance.
Brooks has looked awesome in practices all summer. Looking awesome in practice and looking awesome in games are two different things, though, so the Panthers need to see it more consistently.
Hubbard is still out with a hamstring injury. The injury isn’t thought to be serious, and the team expects him back for Week 1. Hubbard just eclipsed 1,000 yards for the Panthers as recently as 2024, so he should still be a key contributor.
