The Carolina Panthers may have one of the more intriguing backfield situations in the NFL heading into the 2026 season, but according to one of the team's newest additions, there is no debate when it comes to leadership.
During minicamp, free-agent edge rusher Jaelan Phillips offered maybe the strongest endorsement yet of veteran running back Chuba Hubbard's standing within the organization.
"Chuba is positioning himself as the foremost leader of the team," Phillips said, according to Panthers reporter Alex Zietlow.
Carolina Panthers have an interesting dynamic brewing between Chuba Hubbard and Jonathon Brooks
That statement arrives as OTAs just wrapped in Charlotte with the backfield conversation already heating up. Jonathon Brooks looked like himself again, by all accounts, shaking off two ACL tears to earn serious praise from coaches and teammates alike.
Hubbard knows the pressure is there, and he's not avoiding it.
"I saw what he had in him and the potential," Hubbard said of Brooks. "For me as a leader, as a competitor, obviously, I'm chasing greatness myself, but I want to see the people around me be great as well. So I told JB, just stick with me, we'll work together, and you're going to be well off."
However, PFF's numbers from last season aren't kind to Chuba Hubbard…
Among 65 backs with 50+ carries, he ranked last in breakaway percentage, 57th in yards after contact per attempt, and 53rd in explosive runs. That's not a workhorse profile. That's a guy who might be better suited as the change-of-pace option which is awkward when you're the one with the extension.
Even further, Jonathan Brooks' has more upside. If he's fully healthy, he has the quickness and receiving ability to outpace Hubbard over time. But nobody in Charlotte actually knows what Brooks has right now. He has nine career rushing attempts. His availability has been the story, not his production.
The reality is that Brooks will probably be used the way Rico Dowdle was through the first couple weeks of 2025. Expect limited touches and controlled exposure as Hubbard takes the bulk of the work early. Then the balance shifts if Brooks earns it.
It played out almost identically last year. Hubbard had 34 touches through the first two games. Dowdle had 12. By midseason, head coach Dave Canales was running a near-even split.
Something similar in 2026 could make a lot of sense with Brooks stepping into Dowdle's vacated role.
For now, this is still Hubbard's backfield. The coaching staff believes in him, a new teammate is publicly backing him, and the plan coming out of OTAs reflects that.
Whether it stays that way depends on how the season actually plays out.
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