A few weeks ago, Chuba Hubbard suffered a hamstring injury at the Panthers’ training camp, putting his status for Week 1 up in the air. This news pushed Brooks up draft boards and sent Hubbard down.
The reaction was logical, as hamstring injuries are always tough to predict, but Hubbard returned to practice this week. Meanwhile, Jonathon Brooks has been dealing with some soreness at practice this week, but specifics weren’t presented to the media. However, The Athletic’s Joe Person believes the Panthers are just resting Brooks after he saw a lot of action at training camp while Hubbard was out.
Nevertheless, both Brooks and Hubbard are likely to play in next Sunday’s Week 1 matchup against the Bears. So, at this point, which running back should be going first in fantasy football drafts?
2026 Fantasy Outlook: Chuba Hubbard vs. Jonathon Brooks
Before dealing with “soreness” this week, Brooks was getting praised at the Panthers’ training camp, as he enters this season without a significant injury. Brooks hasn’t played in almost two years after he tore his ACL for the second time three weeks into his rookie season in 2024. He only saw nine carries that year before going down, and then sat out the 2025 season as a result.
While tearing the same ACL twice is obviously a red flag, Brooks is only 23 years old and was a highly touted prospect coming out of Texas in 2024. He was brilliant in his final season with the Longhorns, rushing for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns and catching 25 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown before getting drafted by Carolina in the second round. Brooks can get it done as both a rusher and receiver, and clearly has big potential.
Hubbard, on the other hand, is less of an elite talent and is coming off a disappointing campaign. This past season, the 27-year-old took a big step backward as a rusher, going from 4.8 yards per carry in 2024 to 3.8 in 2025.
Hubbard rushed for only one touchdown and, among backs with 50+ carries, ranked 49th in YPC and 52nd in rushes of 10+ yards (eight). Hubbard was decent in the passing game, though, catching 30-of-39 targets for 233 yards and three touchdowns.
Hubbard produced a mediocre 0.29 FPTS per snap, and he only cracked double-digit FPTS three times in 15 games. Still, all those outings went for 17+ FPTS.
While Hubbard appears to be in decline, he has been under HC Dave Canales the last two seasons and has the trust of this coaching staff. Hubbard should see a sizable workload to begin this season, as the Panthers likely want to get Brooks acclimated after being out for so long.
But once Brooks gets comfortable, the Panthers setting the back free and letting him lead this backfield makes a ton of sense, after they invested a second-round pick on the back two years ago.
It may take Brooks some time, but he should finish as the much better fantasy asset over Hubbard, and Brooks should go earlier in fantasy drafts by a few rounds.
