4 big Carolina Panthers storylines to watch at the Giants in Week 7
By Dean Jones
Will the Carolina Panthers deploy a run-first approach?
Matt Rhule made no secret of his desire for the Carolina Panthers to run the football more in light of their recent display against the Minnesota Vikings. This might be more difficult with no Christian McCaffrey to call upon, but judging by a couple of moves this week, it might be something the head coach is going to go through with.
Chuba Hubbard will lead the way. But asking the fourth-round pick to accumulate north of 25 carries at this stage of his development is probably too much.
Carolina also has Royce Freeman, although they haven’t utilized him all that much since joining off waivers from the Denver Broncos. This might see the likes of Reggie Bonnafon and Ameer Abdullah come into the fold and generate meaningful touches after both were brought on board this week.
Bonnafon knows the scheme and can also assist in pass-catching situations. Abdullah only played against the Panthers last Sunday for Minnesota and possesses the experience to be a dual-threat if needed.
This seems like the smart way to go. Especially considering how much Sam Darnold’s rash decision-making behind a porous offensive line has cost them of late.
Just how the Panthers go about this in an effective way is something to watch.