It might be time to start appreciating Chuba Hubbard.
For the second straight year, NFL.com has named the 24-year-old running back the most underappreciated player for the Carolina Panthers. This time around, it’s content editor Tom Blair singing the praises of Hubbard:
Hubbard made my colleague Cynthia Frelund’s list of underappreciated players last year, but I’m going with him here again because of what he did after that — and because, for the second straight offseason, the Panthers have invested in competition for Hubbard. In 2023, Carolina signed Miles Sanders to a fat new contract, only for Hubbard to end up carrying the ground game (238 carries, 902 rushing yards, five rushing TDs) in his third pro season. He also became the second Panthers running back to top 1,000 scrimmage yards in a season since Christian McCaffrey did it in 2019. This year, they drafted Jonathon Brooks in the second round — but the rookie is coming off a torn ACL. At the least, Hubbard can serve as a reliable option while new coach Dave Canales attempts to straighten out the rest of the offense around Bryce Young.
Hubbard took advantage of a slow start from Sanders, who joined the team on a four-year, $25.4 million deal last spring. The only numbers the Panthers got in return from Sanders, however, were a career-low 432 rushing yards and just one touchdown.
Carolina’s struggling offense would turn to Hubbard less than two months into the campaign. And while the unit didn’t exactly turn things around as a whole, they watched Hubbard lead the Panthers in rushing yards for the second time in his three pro seasons.
