The Carolina Panthers are set to open the practice window this week for rookie running back Jonathan Brooks, who was their second-round draft pick from Texas.
Brooks suffered a torn ACL in his knee last November while playing for the Longhorns and has not practiced with the Panthers since being drafted.
At 21 years old, Brooks is probably a few weeks away from being added to the 53-man roster due to his lack of practice time. Once the practice window opens, the Panthers will have 21 days to activate him.
“He has explosive ability and a combination of size and speed, and his body control is really rare from what we’ve seen in the past couple of years,” said Panthers coach Dave Canales.
“He’s a really fluid pass catcher out of the backfield with the ability to make big plays. He has a natural patience in his running style, which gives him many great traits that you hope for.”
Despite the Panthers’ struggles this season (1-5), the running back position hasn’t been a weak point.
Chuba Hubbard has been performing well, recording his fourth straight game with at least 90 rushing yards in Sunday’s 38-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He’s averaging over 5.8 yards per carry in the last five weeks and is running hard.
Miles Sanders is the second-string running back.
As for how Brooks will fit into the backfield, Canales mentioned that will be decided later, based on what Brooks demonstrates in practice.
