The Panthers’ choice to replace Rico Dowdle with only AJ Dillon suggests confidence in Jonathon Brooks’ ability to contribute behind starter Chuba Hubbard in 2026.
While Brooks will compete with Trevor Etienne for snaps, his outlook is clouded by a difficult recovery from two ACL tears. Because of these recurring injuries, fantasy football managers are maintaining a skeptical approach toward his value this season. Now is the time to acquire Brooks in dynasty leagues before the athletic workhorse back secures a key role in the offense.
Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (knee) said ...
Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (knee) missed...
Carolina Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks (knee) has ...
Jonathon Brooks is essentially a walking medical case study at this point, returning from back-to-back ACL reconstructions that completely vaporized his 2025 season and cratered his dynasty value. While his 6.1 College Yards Per Carry (75th-percentile) and 22.5-percent College Dominator Rating suggest a potential workhorse, Brooks is currently buried in a backfield committee behind high-volume starter Chuba Hubbard and the dynamic Trevor Etienne.
Dave Canales has transformed Carolina’s running game into an efficiency machine, and at just 22 years old, Brooks has quickly become the sneakiest stash in all of dynasty. Bottom line: Brooks is an excellent late-round stash for fantasy gamers soaking up high-stakes variance.
When the Panthers traded up in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft for running back Jonathon Brooks out of the University of Texas, they were expecting a steal, despite his recovery from an ACL injury. Brooks sat out until Week 11 of 2024 before seeing the field.
Come Week 14 of 2024, Brooks again tore his ACL in the same knee on a non-contact play. The rookie was forced to miss the remainder of 2024 and the entirety of the 2025 season.
Recently, Panthers head coach Dave Canales commented that “He’s flying around, he’s big, he’s beautiful looking. He one of the more powerful, explosive athletes we have. He’s gonna have an opportunity to compete to start for this team.”
If that doesn’t get fans excited, what will? Carolina can move on from Rico Dowdle’s expiring contract, with Chuba Hubbard and 2025 rookie Trevor Etienne also on the roster. If healthy, Brooks is an immediate RB1 behind this offensive line at full strength. With the recent development of Bryce Young and the young wideouts, this Panthers offense will be flying.
Author: Jesse Baldwin (@J_Baldwin51)
Jonathon Brooks has now been more snakebitten than fellow Longhorn RB Roschon Johnson. After finally getting his opportunity for the Texas Longhorns in the 2023 season, and really running with it… Brooks’ collegiate breakout ended early with an ACL tear, which also caused him to drop out of the first round in a very weak running back draft class. When he was finally activated in 2024 by Carolina, Brooks once again tore his ACL in week 14, just 3 weeks into getting eased back into action.
Carolina has really shored up the RB room in preparation of this move. The team extended Chuba Hubbard last season, signed Rico Dowdle as a high quality complimentary back, and drafted Trevor Etienne in the 4th round of the 2025 draft. While Brooks may have more raw talent and better draft capital than the rest of the RB room, there are a lot of uncertainties in returning to form from back to back ACL tears… to a team that may still be struggling offensively… with a potentially crowded backfield. Brooks’ football future may really begin on another team on a second contract, 2 years from now.
Author: Lukasz Stec (@Lukasz_FF01)
The Panthers invested their 2nd round pick in a running back in the 2024 NFL draft. Jonathon Brooks was coming off of an ACL injury, and there were questions about when the former Texas Longhorn running back would be up to game speed.
Brooks would made his debut in week 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs rushing for 7 yards on 2 carries. He finished the year with 45 total yards on 12 touches after falling down on a non contact play vs the Philadelphia Eagles. Heading into 2026, there will certainly have more questions than answers about his ability, and his availability.
Chuba Hubbard will now own the Panthers backfield both contractually and in terms of workload. His dynasty stock will be steadily rising as he enjoyed a breakout season, rushing for 1195 yards and 10TDs. This news makes Hubbard one of the hotter names in the RB market in dynasty.
Author: Justin Currie (@Chev90)
The Panthers are on the ascent in recent weeks, as evidenced by some recent tight contests against some of the league’s best teams. Carolina were just one Xavier Legette drop away from being in scoring position in the final minutes of Sunday’s game before losing to the Eagles.
Bryce Young is playing some of his best football, but still not providing at a prolific rate for fantasy. He was the QB20 in fantasy scoring in Week 14 even while compiling 29 yards rushing on seven rush attempts. The only pass catcher to record a difference-making fantasy performance was Adam Thielen, who brought in nine receptions for 102 yards. Xavier Legette drew eight targets, but caught just two for 39 yards. David Moore recorded five targets, but caught just two for 25 yards. Tight end Tommy Tremble caught the lone receiving touchdown, his only reception for two total yards receiving.
Unfortunately, rookie running back Jonathon Brooks is reported to have re-torn his ACL, the injury that landed him on IR for the early part of the season. That means Chuba Hubbard, who has seen bell cow usage with Brooks out, will continue to see difference-making usage down the stretch (Miles Sanders is also on IR with an ankle injury). Hubbard saw 26 carries and five targets in this one, and scored the Panthers other touchdown on the ground. Hubbard is in position to make an impact in the fantasy playoffs.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
