Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard runs through a drill during the first day of minicamp at the practice fields behind Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez mrodriguez@charlotteobserver.com
The Carolina Panthers’ run game was a bastion of consistency in 2024 — and it was pretty much unique in that regard.
Bryce Young felt the depths of an early-season benching and the highs of a late-season emergence. Receivers got hurt and dropped game winners, but also broke records. The defense was historically bad yet still saw solid individual performances, including a Jaycee Horn Pro Bowl bid.
But the team’s running game, paved by an improved offensive line and a hungry Chuba Hubbard, was solid. All year. Through and through.
And in 2025, there’s reason to think such a facet of the Panthers’ offense got better.
The Charlotte Observer is breaking down each position on the team’s 91-man depth chart ahead of the 2025 training camp. Today, we’re looking at the newly assembled running back room and what to expect come the regular season.
Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard is congratulated by fans following his game winning rushing touchdown in overtime to defeat the Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Sunday, December 22, 2024. The Panthers defeated the Cardinals in overtime 36-30. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Hubbard and Dowdle and Etienne, oh my!
Last season, the question of who was going to start in the backfield was what reigned.
And that made sense.
Hubbard was on a contract year. Miles Sanders sought redemption. The Panthers had used a second-round draft pick to select Jonathon Brooks — the best running back in the field, who without an injury exiting college would’ve probably been a first-round guy.
But last season’s hierarchy was established quickly. And correctly. Hubbard was the starter from Day 1 and was fed a ton as the team tried to figure out how good he could be and whether he was worth an extension. (Reader: He was.)
Meanwhile, Sanders struggled in limited opportunities and thrived in the lone game he started in Week 18, while Brooks reinjured the ACL in his third game back.
Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks watches a replay from the team’s sideline during action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on Sunday, December 1, 2024. The Buccaneers defeated the Panthers in overtime 26-23. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
And that leads us here, to 2025, to this newly assembled Panthers backfield. The Panthers took what they saw in 2024 and doubled down on Hubbard, released Sanders and essentially exchanged him for Rico Dowdle from the Cowboys, deemed Brooks out for all of 2025, and drafted Trevor Etienne.
So now the question is:
How will these chances be distributed?
Here’s how I imagine it playing out:
▪ Hubbard will still get the overwhelming majority of the touches. In 2024, he notched 712 snaps — most on the team not by an offensive lineman and not named Bryce Young. He also ran the ball 250 times — 11th most in the league and second most among all running backs who played 15 games or fewer. That number will drop a bit in 2025. It has to. The Panthers want Hubbard to be fresh for four more seasons at minimum, and that number of carries won’t help meet that end, even if it was difficult for Hubbard’s 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns made it difficult to keep him off the field. He should still get goal-line touches, though; him running behind Robert Hunt was one of the most reliable plays in the Dave Canales playbook last year.
▪ Dowdle and Etienne will split carries. Dowdle, too, is coming off a 1,000-yard season with the Cowboys — and that was his first season being the lead back. But remember, he’s behind a prolific back in Hubbard; Sanders in the same role (and without a third RB, really) only notched 55 carries, the bulk of which came in his lone start in the Panthers’ finale. Another caveat: The Panthers drafted Etienne and need to figure out what they have in him before Brooks returns to the action in 2026. They also really like the rookie if minicamp is any indication — as a returner and a running back.
▪ Raheem Blackshear will almost exclusively be a special teams player, if the Panthers elect to keep a fourth back — which they didn’t in 2024, for what it’s worth. Even with Brooks out for most of the season in 2024, Blackshear didn’t notch a rushing attempt until Week 16.
Carolina Panthers running back Trevor Etienne, center walks to the team’s OTA practice with his teammates on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
Projected Carolina Panthers running back depth chart
Projected starter: Chuba Hubbard
Projected backups: Rico Dowdle, Trevor Etienne
Competition: Raheem Blackshear will be competing with other returning options in David Moore, Jimmy Horn Jr. and Hunter Renfrow for a spot on the team’s 53-man roster, with Kayron Lynch-Adams and Emani Bailey candidates for the practice squad.