Miles Sanders & Chuba Hubbard Ranked as Top 50 Running Backs by NFL.com

Carolina had one of the best rushing attacks down the stretch of the 2022 season and finished the year 10th in rushing yards per game (130.1). 

This past year? Quite the opposite. 

The Panthers finished 20th in the league, averaging just a smidge over 104 yards per contest. It may not sound like a huge drop off, but their inability to establish the run early in games put the offense and in more particular, Bryce Young, in a tough spot week after week.

Despite letting D'Onta Foreman walk last offseason, expectations for the run game remained high with Hubbard's return and the addition of Miles Sanders, who helped the Eagles get to the Super Bowl, rushing for a career-high 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns.

For whatever reason, Sanders never came close to living up to the preseason hype and saw his role diminish as the season moved along. 

Former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew recently ranked every running back who started a game in 2023. Out of 72 eligible players, Hubbard ranked 25th while Sanders checked in at No. 49.

Here's what MJD had to say about each Panther running back via NFL.com.

Chuba Hubbard

"Hubbard went from backup to supplanting Miles Sanders as the Panthers’ RB1 in October, ultimately leading the team in carries and rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. The third-year pro was a bright spot in an otherwise-disappointing offense, and he should be excited about the addition of head coach Dave Canales for 2024."

Miles Sanders

"Sanders was far from the player we saw with the Eagles in 2022. After signing a four-year, $25.4 million deal, Sanders lost his starting job in October to Chuba Hubbard. His role continued to wane as the season progressed. Over the final four games, Sanders had a total of 14 carries for 33 yards."

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