Chuba Hubbard is Primed for a Leading Role Again this Season

While a 5-12 record doesn’t look great, the Panthers showed some improvement last season. QB Bryce Young bounced back from being benched to finish the season on a high note. Still, the driving force behind the Panthers’ offense was RB Chuba Hubbard. Heading into this season, Hubbard is once again primed for a leading role in their backfield.

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Hubbard Sets Career Highs in 2024

Hubbard was originally a fourth-round pick in the 2021 Draft. He was given 172 carries during his rookie season, but saw his role decline in 2022. Then, he produced a breakout 2023 campaign in which he turned 238 carries into 902 yards and five touchdowns. He also made an impact in the passing game, catching 39-of-44 targets for 233 yards.

Hubbard was busy again last season, receiving 250 carries. He was more efficient than the season prior, averaging 4.8 yards per game. That helped him finish with 1,195 rushing yards. He was tough to bring down, averaging 3.0 yards after contact.

Hubbard also had 10 rushing touchdowns, which was by far the highest mark of his career. In 2023, he had 36 red zone carries, 11 of which came from inside the five-yard line. Last season, he had 45 carries inside the red zone. Of those 45 carries, 21 of them came inside the five-yard line.

A career season hasn’t exactly shot Hubbard up draft boards this year. According to 4for4’s Multi-Site ADP, Hubbard has an ADP of 48 that makes him RB19. He is being taken in the range of Joe Mixon (ADP 47, RB18) and James Conner (ADP 51, RB20).

New Backups Behind Hubbard

The Panthers did not have great backup running back options behind Hubbard last season. Jonathon Brooks tore his ACL for the second time in two years, finishing the season with just nine carries. Given his injury history, it’s unclear if he will be able to make much of an impact for the Panthers moving forward.

Miles Sanders had the second-most carries among running backs for the Panthers last season, but he wasn’t busy with just 38 of them in total. Sanders is now on the Cowboys. In order to improve their depth, the Panthers signed Rico Dowdle and drafted Trevor Etienne during the offseason. Dowdle showed he can be productive in a leading role last season, rushing 235 times for 1,079 yards with the Cowboys. However, he only had two rushing touchdowns.

Despite Dowdle and Etienne now being in the fold, Hubbard will be the lead back for the Panthers. With that being said, Dowdle is going to receive more than the 38 carries that Sanders was given last season. However, he’s not a threat to take red zone rushing attempts away from Hubbard. Despite receiving 25 carries inside the red zone last season, Dowdle finished with just two rushing touchdowns.

Improving Panthers Offense

The improvement that Young showed towards the end of last season is encouraging for the Panthers’ offense. The unit could also be more productive after selecting WR Tetairoa McMillan with the eighth pick in the 2025 Draft. He finished with at least 1,300 receiving yards in each of his last two seasons in college. He also totaled 18 receiving touchdowns over the last two seasons. With a wide receiver in the fold that defenses need to focus on trying to slow down, that should make things easier for Hubbard. Hubbard could reach at least 225 carries again this season and threaten for double-digit touchdowns, making him someone to target as an RB2 in fantasy.

The Bottom Line

• With little competition for carries, Chuba Hubbard received a career-high 250 rushing attempts last season.
• Hubbard averaged 4.8 yards per carry, finishing with 1,195 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.
• The Panthers improved their running back depth by adding Dowdle this offseason, but he shouldn’t take a significant number of carries away from Hubbard.
• Adding McMillan at wide receiver gives the Panthers a more dangerous passing attack, meaning opposing defenses might not be able to focus as much of their efforts on slowing down Hubbard.
• According to 4for4’s Multi-Site ADP, Hubbard has an ADP of 48 and is RB19. Expect him to be a viable RB2 again in fantasy.