Who is the Panthers' Most Underappreciated Player?

The Panthers continue to add competition in the backfield, but they may already have their guy.

Oct 1, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) warms up before the game at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Some players around the league don't get the attention they deserve and that could be due to playing on a bad team or maybe they just haven't been fully unleashed. You know, guys that are underrappreciated and overlooked.

Tom Blair of NFL Network pegged running back Chuba Hubbard as that guy for the Carolina Panthers.

"Hubbard made my colleague Cynthia Frelund's list of underappreciated players last year, but I'm going with him here again because of what he did after that -- and because, for the second straight offseason, the Panthers have invested in competition for Hubbard. In 2023, Carolina signed Miles Sanders only for Hubbard to end up carrying the ground game (238 carries, 902 rushing yards, five rushing TDs) in his third pro season. He also became the second Panthers running back to top 1,000 scrimmage yards in a season since Christian McCaffrey did it in 2019. This year, they drafted Jonathon Brooks in the second round -- but the rookie is coming off a torn ACL. At the least, Hubbard can serve as a reliable option while new coach Dave Canales attempts to straighten out the rest of the offense around Bryce Young."

Hubbard only averaged 3.8 yards per carry last season but in all fairness, he didn't have much of a path to run the ball. With a much more consistent o-line group in 2022, Hubbard averaged 4.9 yards per attempt albeit in a significantly reduced role.

While I do agree there could be something there with Hubbard, I'd argue the player that is most often forgot about is right tackle Taylor Moton. The offensive line was one of the league's worst in 2023, but Moton was not one to blame. He held his own allowing just one sack on the season and did everything he could to help the revolving door of guards playing next to him.

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