Fourth-year back gets bell cow usage and adds to impressive rushing season
Chuba Hubbard owned the Panthers’ backfield Sunday with Miles Sanders (knee/foot) playing only six snaps and Jonathon Brooks a healthy scratch. Hubbard ran the ball 28 times for 153 yards and a score versus the Giants in Munich. He is now No. 3 in the NFL with 818 rushing yards, trailing only Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley. With Sanders banged up and Brooks ramping up slowly, Hubbard is getting bell cow usage and careening toward league winner status.
With the Panthers leaning into the run game and not much resistance from the Giants on the other side of the ball, Bryce Young threw only 25 passes, his lowest pass attempt total on the season. Young is a last resort QB start. He does not add much on the ground, although he did add 30 yards on the ground Sunday on two rush attempts.
In a low volume passing attack, Jalen Coker was the target leader with eight, catching just three for 41 yards. Xavier Legette caught three of his four targets for 40 yards and Ja’Tavion Sanders had the lone receiving touchdown on one of his two targets. Sanders caught his other target, but went down on the one-yard line. Otherwise, he would have had a two-catch, two-touchdown day.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard has a ...
Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (knee) is ...
Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard is lined up to...
Bryce Young gets third straight start coming off win vs. Saints
Dave Canales named Bryce Young starter for the Panthers’ Week 10 tilt versus the Giants in Germany. Young engineered a game-winning touchdown drive against the Saints in Week 9, but completed just 16 passes for 171 yards and one TD. Ja’Tavion Sanders led the team in receiving with four catches for 87 yards. Xavier Legette had the lone touchdown, leading the team with six targets and catching four of them for 33 yards. It’s a low-ceiling passing offense in Carolina, Legette being the lone touchdown threat. The Giants have a bottom-third pass defense, but the Panthers-Giants matchup has a low 40.5 game total, the Panthers a 17-point implied total.
Jonathon Brooks has been activated from IR and looks to take the field in Week 10. He will ramp up slowly, however, spelling Chuba Hubbard along with Miles Sanders. Hubbard has been the bell cow in Carolina, average 14.8 carries and 3.2 targets per game. He is No. 11 with 773 total yards among running backs on the season. The Giants’ defense is also bottom-third against the run. With the muted game environment, Hubbard is a high-end RB3.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
Panthers sign fourth-year back to four-year, $33M deal
With rookie running back Jonathon Brooks set to see his first game action in the coming weeks, the Panthers have signed Chuba Hubbard to a four-year, $33 million contract extension. Hubbard has been the Panthers’ lead back during the 2024 season, handling 71.1-percent of the Opportunity Share and playing ahead of fellow veteran Miles Sanders.
Hubbard has made good on the opportunities granted. He currently has the fifth-most rush yards (665) in the league and six total touchdowns (No. 11). Sanders’ contract goes through 2026, but with Hubbard clearly outperforming him and second round draft pick Brooks getting on the field, the team will look to Hubbard and Brooks to share the bulk of the touches for the remainder of the 2024 season and beyond.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
Bryce Young Named Starter As Panthers Put Young Weapons to the Test
The Panthers match up against division rival Saints in Week 9. It will be a battle of basement dwellers in the NFC South. The Panthers have struggled with consistency at QB. Bryce Young will be the Panthers’ starting QB for Week 9 while Andy Dalton continues to recover from a thumb injury.
Young went 24-for-37 passing in Week 8 versus a tough Broncos’ secondary. The second-year QB accounted for the Panthers’ two TDs passing, just the third time in his career throwing for multiple TDs in a game. The recipients of those touchdown passes were Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker. They will be the likely target leaders rest of season as they were in Week 8 (Legette 7, Coker 6). Don’t sleep on David Moore in deeper leagues. Moore quietly ran the most routes on the team and was the recipient of five targets. Temper expectations for the Carolina passing offense, however. Young has only thrown for more than 300 yards once in his career as starter.
Another storyline to watch is in the Panthers’ backfield. Jonathon Brooks is slated to make his debut soon as he comes off the ACL tear he suffered late in his final college season at Texas. The second round rookie is unlikely to be activated for Week 9, however, so Chuba Hubbard will continue to lead the Panthers backfield. Hubbard has been serviceable on decent volume. He is No. 9 with 111.6 Weighted Opportunities and No. 5 with 593 rush yards on the season. He has four rushing TDs, and faces a Saints D that ranks in the bottom quarter of the league stopping the run.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
Panthers Second Round Pick Not Ready for Game Action
Carolina Panthers rookie running back Jonathon Brooks has been ruled out for the team’s Week 7 tilt with the Commanders. The Panthers opened the practice window for the second round pick on Wednesday, but are not ready to elevate him to active status. The former Texas Longhorn tore his ACL in November of last season, and the Panthers are being cautious getting him into game action.
The Panthers have a 1-5 record heading into their matchup with Washington and Chuba Hubbard has been more than serviceable as the team’s RB1 this season. Hubbard is RB12 in Opportunity Share (69.2-percent) and RB4 with 89.3 Weighted Opportunities through six weeks, playing ahead of Miles Sanders. When Brooks makes his debut, it is likely he will still have a ramp up period, sharing the backfield with two veterans. The organization will also want to preserve Brooks – their running back of the future – especially in what is shaping up to be a lost season.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
After a resurgent week for the Carolina Panthers, Adam Thielen is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks.
The Panthers expect Adam Thielen to miss some time with a hamstring injury he suffered upon scoring a touchdown. Thielen had 3 receptions for 40 yards.
The Panthers had their way with the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday with a convincing 36-22 victory. The loss of Adam Thielen will have more of a cumulative effect on the win-loss nature of real football results.
The fantasy impact with Thielen’s absence will be a boost to Diontae Johnson. Johnson went off for 8 receptions, 122 yards, and a touchdown on 14 targets. Expect an even larger part of the passing pie to go towards Diontae Johnson.
There will be a further emphasis for the running game as the Panthers had mass success with Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders. Hubbard led the way Sunday with 114 rushing yards while tacking on 5 receptions, 55 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown. Things are looking up in Carolina.
