Carolina Panthers Running Back Depth Chart — 2026

A handcuff is the backup who inherits the starter's workload if the starter gets hurt — so the Panthers handcuff is whoever sits directly behind Chuba Hubbard on the depth chart above. Rostering him is how you protect a starting back you have already spent a pick on. More on what a handcuff is.

Jonathon Brooks, the 46th pick of the 2024 draft, has no professional record to read — two seasons lost to knee injuries — and he opened camp taking first-team reps. Chuba Hubbard is the incumbent at 41.7% of the snaps, though his running was the weak part of it at -0.30 yards over expected per carry, 44th of 49.

Hubbard has played 77 of 85 team games across 5 seasons, 90.6%.

What would come free is 134 carries and 39 targets on 41.7% of the snaps — a lead role, but not a dominant one.

Brooks is on IR and has never played a professional down. That is the whole file on him: draft position and a medical history. Trevor Etienne is on IR. He has played but not enough to rank — 3 targets in 17 games on 19 pass snaps, under the 100-snap reporting line. AJ Dillon's availability line comes from Philadelphia: 55 of 68 team games across 4 seasons.

This is the live question in the room, and the honest answer is that camp decides it.

Hubbard took 41.7% of the snaps, 33rd among running backs — a starter's share without a starter's efficiency. Etienne is now on IR, and his 2025 work already sat under every reporting floor: 19 pass snaps against the 100 needed, 3 targets against the 25 needed.

Brooks is now on IR as well, and the depth chart has moved AJ Dillon to the 2 spot with Brooks at 3 and Anthony Tyus added at 6. The reporting below is the only evidence there is, and it is worth reading carefully rather than skimming — first-team reps in July are not a depth chart in September.

On last season's evidence it is Hubbard, which is the part most likely to change.

Hubbard drew 39 targets, 2.60 a game, catching 30 for 223 yards. He played 45.5% of the pass snaps against 41.7% of snaps overall — a tilt of +3.8 toward throwing downs, not away from them.

Nobody else in the room has a receiving line. Etienne drew 3, Dillon 3 in Philadelphia, and Brooks has never taken a snap. Dillon now sits 2nd on the Carolina depth chart at running back, with Brooks 3rd and on injured reserve.

So the receiving work is not currently contested by anyone with a record. What the head coach has said about Brooks in the passing game is below.

Reporting from a previous season, kept because a role a player has already held is the best evidence available about the one he might hold next. It describes 2025, not now.

Brooks re-tore his right knee in his third career game during the 2024 season and then missed the entire 2025 season. (NFL.com, 2026-04-29)

What the beat is reporting, last refreshed 2026-10-01. Nothing here is measured — it is reporting, attributed and dated.

Jonathon Brooks said he had been cleared by his surgeon and that the training staff and coaches have a plan for him (NFL.com, 2026-04-29).

NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe reported there will be no limitations on Brooks entering training camp (NBC Sports, relaying NFL Network, 2026-07-23).

The Charlotte Observer's Mike Kaye reported Brooks took first-team reps at Thursday's practice, with Chuba Hubbard and Trevor Etienne also working with the ones (NBC Sports, relaying the Charlotte Observer, 2026-07-23).

Head coach Dave Canales on Brooks at the opening of camp: he feels great, he feels strong, he looks fast, he looks like the guy Canales remembers (NFL.com, 2026-07-24).

Dave Canales said Jonathon Brooks has looked great in the run game and also in the pass game (Draft Sharks, 2026-06-05).

Canales said half of Brooks's college highlights were screen passes (Draft Sharks, 2026-06-05).

Canales said Brooks has a great ability to catch the ball, track it and transition once he catches it (Draft Sharks, 2026-06-05).

The team's pre-camp preview says Hubbard has been slotted back in as the clear leader, and projects Trevor Etienne into a special teams role along with supplementary use in the run game (Panthers.com, 2026-07-16).

The team's pre-camp preview frames Brooks' open question as game speed, asking how quickly he can adapt back after so much time sidelined (Panthers.com, 2026-07-16).

Carolina signed AJ Dillon to a one-year deal, adding a veteran early-down and short-yardage body behind Hubbard and Brooks (Wisconsin Sports Heroics, relaying Jordan Schultz, 2026-03-18).