Chuba Hubbard is a running back for the Carolina Panthers. Growing up in Alberta, Hubbard played Canadian football up until college, where he moved to the United States to play for the Oklahoma State Sooners. He spent his freshman year as a redshirt, but made waves as both a runner and a pass-catcher in his sophomore season. He totaled 969 scrimmage yards and 9 touchdowns.
Chuba Hubbard took off like a rocket in 2019, leading all NCAA Division I rushers with a jaw dropping 2094 rushing yards. His rushing total and his 21 touchdowns were enough to earn him a unanimous spot with the 2019 Consensus All-Americans. Following this act was difficult for Hubbard, as his production dipped during the shortened season. Following the 2020 season, he declared for the NFL draft. He boasted respectable college stats, but failed to earn a desirable target share.
He boasted respectable college stats, but failed to earn a desirable target share in his three seasons. Despite the monster junior season, his consistency issues and middling 40 yard time caused Hubbard to slip to the 4th round of the NFL Draft. With Christian McCaffrey quickly having to battle health issues, Hubbard was quickly called upon to be the team's lead back. While this shot up his snaps, his routes run remained flatlined as his 7 drops crippled his pass-catching reliability. He flashed a viable skillset, but overall he was inefficient and struggled to overcome the team’s troublesome run blocking. He finished the season with 2.11 yards created per touch and 36 broken tackles.
In 2023, while the Panthers were historically bad on offense, Chuba had his most productive season, finishing with over 900 rushing yards, 233 receiving yards, and five touchdowns. He's not flashy or spectacular, but he is a hard runner and can make a start in a pinch. Hubbard may be called upon to be used early in the year as the Panthers drafted Jonathan Brooks, but he is recovering from an ACL injury. He should be good to go in time for the start of the season, but if not Hubbard has proven he is a capable back of handling anything thrown his way.
