Hubbard's 2024 season was a triumph and a standard-setting moment for a team trying to find its way back to the surface. His cultural impact on the Panthers is no doubt part of why they signed the former fourth-round pick to a four-year, $33.2 million extension in November, and coach Dave Canales has repeatedly gone out of his way to identify Hubbard as the golden example of the kind of player the Panthers want to build around. Carolina signed Hubbard to the extension even before rookie second-round pick Jonathon Brooks re-tore his ACL in December, so Canales clearly had Hubbard in mind as a foundational piece regardless of Brooks' status. With that said, Hubbard is probably not much better than average by starting running back standards, and though he has seemingly earned Canales' trust as a pass blocker, Hubbard does not have a history of standout pass-catching production. Even if he has a good career from this point forward, there' s a chance 2024 could go down as a career year. That would be particularly true if free-agent pickup Rico Dowdle steals more playing time than 2024 backup Miles Sanders did previously. The Panthers don't figure to be particularly good and likely will face catch-up scripts regularly, so it could be hard on Hubbard's margins if Dowdle poaches any reps early in games.
