Panthers' Chuba Hubbard named NFL's most underrated RB
Panthers' Chuba Hubbard named NFL's most underrated RB
Somehow, there's still a lack of respect on the name of Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard.
In fact, Hubbard is so ignored that he's been named the most underrated running back in the entire NFL. That title has come courtesy of ESPN analyst Aaron Schatz, who recently pieced together an all-underrated squad ahead of the 2025 campaign.
Schatz writes of Hubbard:
Let's be honest, the public tends to think about running backs based on their fantasy football value. Hubbard was never one of the top 20 fantasy backs in his first three NFL seasons. Last season was his best performance as a pro, yet he was only 13th in fantasy points. He wasn't going to put up league-leading totals on a losing Carolina team that didn't allow him to run out the clock in victories.
But did you realize that Hubbard had 1,195 rushing yards and scored 11 touchdowns? On a per-play basis, he was outstanding. Hubbard ranked fourth among qualifying running backs last season in NFL Next Gen Stats' rushing yards over expectation per carry (1.1). It was his best year in that metric, but he was also above average in 2022 and 2023.
Hubbard's 1,195 rushing yards and 10 rushing scores were both the highest such marks of his four-year pro tenure. He became only the fourth Panther in franchise history to hit those numbers—joining Stephen Davis (2003), DeAngelo Williams (2008) and Christian McCaffrey (2019).
The Panthers got ahead of that massive production, as they locked the former fourth-round pick in on a four-year, $33.2 million extension in November. Hubbard would go on to churn out two of his very best performances after inking the pact, running for a career-high 153 yards and a touchdown in Week 10 and then 152 yards and two touchdowns (including a walk-off score in overtime) in Week 16.
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