Are the Carolina Panthers brilliant or crazy for loading up on running backs?

Entering this year’s free agency and draft cycle the one position the Carolina Panthers seemed to need the least amount of work was running back. After all, conventional wisdom holds that running back is one of the last valuable, most easily replaceable positions in football. On its face that’s a somewhat bizarre statement given that running backs can impact the game so much by carrying the ball about 25 times per game, on average.

But there’s a reason why running backs are rarely drafted in the first round in the modern NFL and even the best players in the league can’t seem to land long-term second contracts.

Coming out of the Panthers disastrous 2023 campaign the running back room looked to be in decent shape. Chuba Hubbard was coming off a solid third season with 1,135 scrimmage yards, 3.8 yards per carry behind a shoddy offensive line, and was graded by PFF as the 16th best running back in the NFL. Chuba’s a capable back.

Miles Sanders’s first season in Carolina was a massive disappointment but there is at least some hope that a new coaching staff and improved offensive line can get him back on track.

There have been rumors that the Panthers might look to trade Miles Sanders for a late round pick. That would be unwise. Sanders’s cap hit in 2024 is $7.7 million while the Panthers would incur $10.4 million in dead cap money to trade him. Carolina is better off retaining Sanders and see what he can do in a much improved situation around him. His potential upside is absolutely worth it.

Despite the presence of Hubbard and Sanders on the Panthers roster and glaring needs at wide receiver, tight end, and almost every defensive positional unit, Panthers GM Dan Morgan has spent the offseason loading up on running backs.

So is Morgan crazy for adding more bodies to the running back room? Or is he crazy like a fox?

The Panthers new additions

Let’s quickly review the Panthers two new acquisitions:

Jonathon Brooks

Carolina invested the No. 46 pick in this year’s draft in Texas running back Jonathon Brooks, an absolute beast of a runner who is also coming off an ACL tear. He was the first running back selected in this year’s draft. The decision to invest in a running back this early in the draft surprised some and befuddled others (count me among the befuddled).

Look, I want Jonathon Brooks to become a Hall of Famer. He’s a Panther so now he’s one of “my guys”. But Carolina should have addressed other more pressing positions midway through the second round. It will be interesting to see how many touches he gets in his rookie season coming off an injury and battling established veterans for playing time.

But in the end the Panthers did get a player who dominated the Big 12 last year with 1,425 scrimmage yards in 11 games. He’s clearly talented and has massive upside.

Rashaad Penny

Talk about a weird NFL career. Over six NFL seasons Penny has appeared in 45 games with 11 starts. He has carried the ball 348 times for 1,951 yards, which comes out at an otherworldly average of 5.6 yards per carry. He led the NFL with 6.3 yards per attempt in 2021. When healthy and involved he has been a difference maker, though in limited doses.

Penny appeared in just 15 games between 2021 and 2022 and ripped off the following impressive game logs: 190 yards (23 attempts), 170 yards (25 attempts), 151 yards (17 attempts), 137 yards (16 attempts), 135 yards (17 attempts), and 129 yards (14 attempts).

After his breakout seasons with the Seattle Seahawks in 2021 and 2022 he signed last year with the Philadelphia Eagles. He failed to earn reps though and was a healthy scratch most of the year, gaining just 33 yards on 11 carries.

As previously noted here at CSR, Penny knows Panthers coach Dave Canales from their time together in Seattle. Penny should be able to hit the ground running (pun intended). He likely won’t sign with the Panthers until after rookie minicamp so we don’t know the contract details yet, but he should be affordable.

Is stocking up on running backs worth it?

Given where the Panthers currently are, Dan Morgan has been smart by bolstering the running back room. It cuts against the grain of today’s NFL to overstock the running backs room, but the Panthers aren’t where most of the league is today.

The Panthers won’t be Super Bowl contenders this year. The benchmark for success essentially boils down to quarterback Bryce Young become a capable enough signal caller. The best help a young quarterback can have is a solid running game behind him. The Panthers investment in their offensive line this offseason along with the additions of Brooks and Penny should facilitate that.

Rookies usually take time to adapt to the NFL, so we’ll likely need to be patient with Brooks. Penny has proven to be explosive as a role player in the right downs and distance. Hubbard and Sanders can battle it out for RB1. And injuries happen with running backs, so having depth is a must.

Loading up on running backs isn’t the norm in today’s NFL.

But for the 2024 Carolina Panthers, it just might work.