Morgan Sees 'Three-Headed Monster' in the Panthers Backfield

Carolina looks to have an emphasis on running the ball in 2024.

Nov 4, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Jonathon Brooks (24) runs the ball / Ricardo B. Brazziell-USA TODAY Sports

Carolina Panthers GM Dan Morgan was on a mission this spring to surround Bryce Young with as much help as possible. The offense lacked playmakers a year ago in addition to sloppy offensive line play and following free agency and the draft, Morgan has checked off most boxes on his to-do list.

One move that took a lot of people by surprise was drafting running back Jonathon Brooks in the second round. It's not that Brooks isn't worthy of being selected 46th overall, it was more about passing up on a center to draft a player at a position that didn't need addressed that early on.

So why go with Brooks? Morgan explained the decision in a recent interview with Kyle Bailey on WFNZ.

“You’re talking about a 20-year-old, he’s still a young man. Low mileage in terms of carries in his college career. And then on top of that, it’s just the vision, the instincts, how smooth he is, the yards after contact, the percentage of tackles broken. He can pass protect, he can catch the ball out of the backfield. I really feel he just brings a lot to our offense along with Chuba (Hubbard), along with Miles (Sanders). We kind of have a three-headed monster right there in a sense. And in terms of value, there’s been some really good backs drafted in the second round and I think Jonathon can be one of those guys. He’s an exciting back that we didn’t want to lose, so we traded up and we got our guy.”

Brooks is recovering from an ACL injury that cut his final season at Texas short, but he is expected to be ready for training camp in late July. Once he returns to 100%, you can expect his role to gradually increase over time. Until then, Sanders and Hubbard will lead the way with recently signed Rashaad Penny carving himself out a role as well. Following the additions of Brooks and Penny, many felt this would lead to Sanders being traded or let go, but that doesn't feel like Carolina has any plans of parting ways with the 27-year-old.

Head coach Dave Canales said he was going to be stubborn about running the football and to do so, you have to more than a couple of horses in the stable.

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