5 most important Carolina Panthers players at the Giants in Week 7
By Dean Jones
Chuba Hubbard – Carolina Panthers RB
Matt Rhule made no secret of the fact he wants to run the football more. His statements regarding the philosophy on offense changing in the aftermath of their defeat to the Minnesota Vikings spoke volumes about what the head coach thinks of quarterback Sam Darnold’s production and the scheme offensive coordinator Joe Brady is putting together, which is something he clearly wants to change.
If the Carolina Panthers do adopt a run-first mentality moving forward, then it’s going to be without Christian McCaffrey after the All-Pro was placed on the reserve/injured list following some complications with his hamstring rehabilitation.
This means Chuba Hubbard could get even more responsibility on his shoulders at the New York Giants and the games to come before McCaffrey returns.
The rookie fourth-round pick has shown flashes of real potential over the last two games and he’ll get the opportunity to enhance his credentials further against a team that’s giving up a whopping 137.2 yards-per-game on the ground.
Hubbard needs to find a way to stop going down upon first contact – and his pass-catching needs substantial work – but the Panthers will be counting on the Oklahoma State product heavily in Week 7 to set the tone and take some heat off Darnold.