The Carolina Panthers are entering the new NFL season with several changes and decisions to make, particularly regarding how they will utilize their offensive backfield. Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik addressed questions about managing three key running backs: Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle, and rookie Trevor Etienne.
Hubbard, who had a breakout year with 1,195 rushing yards and 1,366 yards from scrimmage, received a contract extension. Dowdle was signed as a free agent from Dallas after recording over 1,000 rushing yards last season. Etienne was drafted in the fourth round and is expected to contribute both on special teams and potentially on offense.
“I think first and foremost, it’s a body of work by Chuba,” Idzik said. “He’s a big piece of who we were last year and who we are going forward. We know the style of runner he is on game day. We know the other two as well; they’ve proven themselves throughout this spring. We’ve seen Rico’s tape. We’ve seen him back that up in person, same thing with Trevor. Everybody saw it in the preseason, the way he runs and finishes his runs.
“So I don’t think we put a number on it, but you just feel blessed to have three guys that run the ball the right way, and then you kind of see as the game goes and you try to make sure that they’re all playing fresh.”
Idzik emphasized the importance of keeping Hubbard healthy for the entire season after he missed two games last year due to injury from heavy usage.
“The benefit from having all three is we don’t need to run Chuba dry early,” Idzik said. “We have two good runners with him. So, it’s a long season. Just like the receiver room question, we know we’re going to have to have all those guys available on a weekly basis, so keeping them fresh and keeping them running full speed, we don’t lose a tick when one goes in versus the other.
“So we’re not going to put a number on it right now, but we are going to make sure that all those guys are prepped for all the different carries that we’re going to ask them to have.”
On defense, coordinator Ejiro Evero discussed preparations for facing Jacksonville’s offense in Week 1. The Jaguars added Heisman winner Travis Hunter through the draft this spring. Hunter joins quarterback Trevor Lawrence and second-year receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie.
“It’s a challenge, certainly, just because one, we have an idea what they’re going to do, but not quite sure where they’re going to line everybody up,” explained Evero.
“They have so many talented ball carriers and receivers like (Travis) Etienne and the two you talked about, (tight end Brenton) Strange,” continued Evero. “So they’re a very talented group and they have a lot of guys that can really create problems in terms of their offensive skill set, so we know we’ve got a big challenge ahead of us.”
Evero noted improvements across Carolina’s defensive front during training camp under general manager Dan Morgan’s leadership.
“Obviously, it starts with Derrick Brown, A’Shawn Robinson, Tershawn Wharton, Bobby Brown III, all of those guys have done a really good job, they’ve had a really good camp,” said Evero. “They’re ready to go. They’re ready to go play, and so that’s exciting; excited about what we’re seeing from the edge guys as well, D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones II, the two young guys Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen DJ Johnson Thomas Incoom so all of these guys have really really just improved all of their games have really increased they’re all game ready and so we’re excited to see what they can do.”
Evero also took time at his press conference’s start to wish his wife Natalie a happy birthday.
Special teams coordinator Tracy Smith spoke about adapting strategy following recent NFL rule changes affecting kickoffs—a process still ongoing across the league since its introduction before last season.
“If something comes up that seems better that seems like something to try you have to be open to that,” Smith said Thursday morning ahead of the Panthers’ Week 1 matchup.
Smith highlighted that teams continue learning how best to approach kickoffs under these new rules: “The whole NFL is on game 21 not counting playoffs of this particular set of rules so it’s still kind of at the beginning.”
Last season Carolina averaged 25.2 yards per kickoff return while limiting opponents’ returns to 24.3 yards—figures near league average as teams experiment with different strategies under evolving regulations.
“There is an opportunity cost of just changing everything week to week,” Smith explained. “You lose some of what you’re doing sometimes even if you’re doing the wrong thing if you’re good at the wrong thing you’re more successful than picking the perfect thing and being bad at it So there’s a balance there
“But in all phases we like to be variable about what we’re showing so what we show in return kickoff kickoff return field goal block not necessarily field goal team but you want options so you’re not easy to defend So that plays into trying something new because they don’t know what’s coming
“And then maybe maybe by just experimenting you can kind of fall into a win surreptitiously.”
