Panthers News: Bryce Young, Ejiro Evero, Thomas Brown and Brian Burns

Thomas Brown's confidence in Carolina Panthers RBs

All the hype is rightfully on quarterback Bryce Young heading into his regular season debut. But if the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft wants to thrive throughout his first year in the pros, the Carolina Panthers must do everything in their power to take some heat off.

This all starts by establishing the run. The Panthers might not have Christian McCaffrey to depend upon anymore, but free-agent signing Miles Sanders could become their new three-down threat if he gets a clear run of games without succumbing to injury.

Chuba Hubbard and Raheem Blackshear should also get carries as the season goes on. But for offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, it's all about being smart and scheming things up to Carolina's advantage based on his comments via the team's website.

"As we know, (it's a) brutal position. Guys get banged up very easily. How do we utilize guys without wearing them down? Obviously, the hard part comes when you get into a game, and a guy's hot and rolling; you want to keep feeding him the ball. But to me, I think about Miles [Sanders] when it comes to touches – also Chuba [Hubbard] – over just necessarily carries. Like not always being able to have carries in between the tackles, but how can we get them in space, find those matchups again? (And) get the ball to them as well."

- Thomas Brown via Panthers.com

Sanders is raring to go this weekend at the Atlanta Falcons. If the former second-round pick out of Penn State can keep the opposing defense honest, it'll make life easier for Brown and Young in no uncertain terms.