Grading Panthers position groups on offense after the 2021 draft

Carolina Panthers RBs

It took waiting until the fourth round but the Carolina Panthers finally brought in a plug-and-play backup for Christian McCaffrey. A much-needed selection given his ridiculous usage rate in recent memory.

While 2020 may not have been Chuba Hubbard’s best year, it wasn’t a lot of people’s, and the Oklahoma State product rushed for more than 2,000 yards in 2019.  If he can regain even a glimpse of that type of production at the next level the Panthers won’t have to worry about a steep drop-off behind their star player.

McCaffrey is the do-it-all, swiss army knife, elusive back, that uses his speed and movement to juke defenders out of their shoes. While Hubbard is a hard-nosed bruiser that lowers his shoulder and annihilates defenders rather than running around them. The epitome of a change of pace back.

The Panthers could have a true 1-2 punch at running back if both McCaffrey and Hubbard can recover from injury-plagued 2020 seasons. And with both of them on the same team, they shouldn’t have to carry the same amount of load as in the past, helping them to stay healthy.

While their individual stats may suffer, having both of them in the same room should keep them running for even longer. We can all remember just how good the Panthers were when Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams were in their prime.

Grade: A

Running back may not have been a huge need for Carolina in 2021, but there was a need for depth behind their Pro Bowler and the Panthers couldn’t have done much better, especially in the fourth round.

If McCaffrey can return to his superstar form and Hubbard can be at least a competent change of pace – which shouldn’t be too difficult given his track record – the running back room looks set for years to come.