2026 Season Opener Countdown: 57 Days Remaining

Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.

#57. Chuba Hubbard

The Carolina Panthers have a history of running backs. Typically they’ve been overdrafted in the first round and heavily featured from the outset until they eventually become fan favorites. There has been at least one guy who’s bucked that trend as is currently the team’s starter at running back for the upcoming season despite lots of ebbs and flows in his career to this point. That guy is Chuba Hubbard.

The Panthers selected Hubbard in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft after then head coach Matt Rhule’s wife famously texted Rhule telling him take Hubbard. The Panthers obliged and added Hubbard as backup to do-it-all-back-that-never-comes-off-the-field Christian McCaffrey. However, during Hubbard’s rookie season, the McCaffrey endured his second consecutive injury plagued campaign. That opened the door for Hubbard to take over as the starter, and while he had some moments, he was rather plodding and underwhelming.

Hubbard was noticeably more nimble entering his second season, but he lost out on the starting role to journeyman D’Onta Foreman. Foreman departed after the season, but instead of letting Hubbard assume the lead back role, the team signed Miles Sanders to a relatively pricey contract to take over as the starter. An injury to Sanders gave the Panthers an excuse to flip the two on the depth chart, and Hubbard immediately proved to be the better back. Finally, in 2024, Hubbard was given full trust as the team’s lead back, and he responded with 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns along with 43 catches.

Despite the breakout season, the Panthers brought in Rico Dowdle to take some of the burden off Hubbard. Hubbard’s 2025 season got off to a somewhat quiet start, and then he had the misfortune of watching Dowdle rip off nearly 400 yards rushing during a two game absence for a calf injury. Hubbard struggled to work his way back and ceded the vast majority of backfield touches to Dowdle despite the latter drastically diminishing in effectiveness as the season went on. Hubbard reestablished himself as the superior back and was finally entrusted with the majority of touches in the playoff loss to the Rams.

We enter the 2026 season in which Hubbard is the clear starter at running back. He delivered last time he was in this spot, and the Panthers will hope he can do it again. He’s improved every year he’s been in the league...