Are the Panthers targeting a running back with their first pick?

If the Panthers draft a running back with their top selection, do not say you weren’t warned.

Draft week is finally upon us, which means we only have a few days left of the drama and intrigue surrounding what the Carolina Panthers newest regime have planned for their inaugural draft. It is time to call your shots and place your bets on which direction you think the Panthers are headed, and I have something that I want to get off my chest: I believe the Carolina Panthers will spend their first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on a running back.

You may think I am crazy, and you’re probably right, but allow me to explain.

Reason No. 1: The Panthers aren’t beholden to any RB past the 2024 season.

Chuba Hubbard’s contract will expire at the end of the 2024 season leaving Miles Sanders as the only running back under contract for the 2025 NFL season. However, releasing the running back, who signed a four year contract prior to the 2023 season, would save $5 million against the cap after accounting for his $2.9 million dead cap hit, according to Spotrac.

If the Panthers have become a forward-thinking organization, does looking at a potentially blank depth chart in 2025 have them wanting to add to the room with a top pick?

Reason No. 2: The Panthers have shown interest in the consensus top two running back prospects.

According to the NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board, Jonathon Brooks and Trey Benson are the top running backs available in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Each team in the NFL is allowed to invite thirty draft prospects to visit their building for whatever reason they would like. The Panthers chose to use two of these visits on Brooks and Benson. If they had no intention on potentially drafting these players, why would they waste their limited visits?

Reason No. 3: The Panthers are keen about adding playmakers on offense, not just wide receivers.

While the narrative surrounding the Carolina Panthers is that they are desperate to add wide receivers to surround sophomore quarterback Bryce Young. However, the specific word used during the pre-draft press conference was “playmakers”. Wide receivers certainly fall into that bucket, but so does the running back position.

The 2024 receiver class is considered to be one of the best and deepest of all time. Could the Panthers use that as an excuse to pounce on a top-end back early and look to grab a receiver later on?

Reason No. 4: The run game is very important to Dave Canales.

Every time Head Coach (and offensive play-caller) Dave Canales speaks with the media, he stresses how important he believes running the ball is to a successful team.

Between bringing in Harold Goodwin as the dedicated Run Game Coordinator, prioritizing mauling offensive guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis as the first two signings in free agency, and constantly emphasizing how stubborn you intend to be running the ball, Dave Canales is not shy about telling the world what he is all about. If you are that dedicated to the run game, aren’t you likely to prioritize the position responsible for toting the rock?

Reason No. 5: Dave Canales and Dan Morgan come from an organization with a long history of prioritizing running backs in the draft.

Dave Canales and Dan Morgan both received their NFL start with the Seattle Seahawks during the Pete Carroll and John Schneider era. Looking at the Seahawks draft history since 2013, they have selected thirteen running backs, which is more than one per year. This includes taking Rashaad Penny with their first round pick at 27th overall in 2018, only a year after taking three(!) running backs in the 2017 draft. In Canales’ last year with Seattle in 2022, the Seahawks selected Kenneth Walker at pick 41.

Dave Canales is bound to draw from his experiences in Seattle under Pete Carroll. Is it fair to assume Canales and Morgan will adhere to the philosophy of continuously adding running backs through the draft, including with the top 45 selections?

Reason No. 6: Trey Benson might just check every box the Panthers want.

All of the above reasons mean nothing if there is not a running back the Panthers consider talented enough to select. I think the Panthers do have a guy in mind, and I think it is Trey Benson out of Florida State.

According the NFL Mock Draft Database, Trey Benson’s consensus ranking is the 59th ranked player in the 2024 NFL Draft. It might be a reach, but refer back to the previous reason and see if the Seahawks cared about reaching for a running back. Rashaad Penny was the 52nd ranked player in 2018 when the Seahawks selected him 27th overall, while Kenneth Walker was the 51st ranked player when the Seahawks selected him 41st.

If the Panthers are taking a page out of the Seahawks playbook, is Trey Benson their guy?

Trey Benson has an ideal frame (6’0, 216 lbs), top-tier speed (4.39 40 yard dash), pass-catching upside, sound pass-blocking ability, strong contact balance, is trustworthy (zero fumbles in entire college career), makes plays (only player with both an 80 yard rush and reception touchdown in 2023), is young with a plenty of tread left on the tires (21 years old with just over 300 carries in college), projects well to both gap and zone schemes, and has kick return experience which only enhances his value after recent changes to the NFL kickoff.

Benson is not Bijan Robinson nor Jahmyr Gibbs as a prospect. He shows inconsistent vision, has some stiffness in his running style, and while there are many good pass-blocking reps he is inconsistent with technique and identifying blitzers. After all, there’s a reason why he is projected mid-late round two, but do the Panthers think these problems can be improved with more experience?

It could be with pick 33, pick 39, or even a later pick in the second round if the Panthers get bold with back-to-back trade downs, but I believe the Panthers are itching to add a top running back from this years draft and are committed enough to do it before anything else.

What do you think, Panthers fans?