Is Chuba Hubbard a top-five running back in the NFL? Four statistics that prove him right

It was around this time a year ago when Chuba Hubbard cemented himself as the frontrunner for the Carolina Panthers and he hasn’t looked back since. The Panthers signed Miles Sanders to the most lucrative free agent deal for any running back prior to last season, but he lost the job just over a month into the season.

Poor offensive line play, mixed with the back and forth of play-calling duties between Frank Reich and Thomas Brown, played a large role in his lack of success, leading some to believe Sanders could thrive in this new system under Dave Canales and possibly earn his job back or, at worst, an interim partnership with Hubbard.

Unfortunately, that didn’t work out, but Carolina has seen a huge jump in production from Hubbard, who is now considered one of the best backs in the league. Don’t you believe me? Well, let’s let the numbers speak for themselves.

Going into today’s action, Hubbard is on the cusp of the top five in the four major rushing categories.

Note: The following statistics do not include quarterback rushing totals.

To make this a reasonably accurate number, I put a minimum of 30 carries here so that we get real data on guys who rush the ball consistently. No quarterbacks with five rushes or a receiver with a 30-yard jet sweep that skews the rankings. Hubbard currently ranks fifth in this statistic, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, behind only Tank Bigsby, JK Dobbins, Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley.

With 393 rushing yards, Hubbard checks in at fifth, behind only Jordan Mason, Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs. That’s pretty good company. Some guys he sits in front of? Alvin Kamara, James Conner, Aaron Jones and Jonathan Taylor.

This stat makes me scratch my head as the Panthers get away from the ground game. Hubbard has 20 carries that have moved the sticks, meaning 29% of the time he’s handed the ball it goes down for the first time. With such a high pace, Dave Canales has to lean on Hubbard and the big boys up front more often.

Hubbard is tied for the sixth most explosive runs of the season (3), putting him in the same company as James Conner, Josh Jacobs, JK Dobbins and Jahmyr Gibbs. Imagine what this number would be if the Panthers weren’t blown out in the season opener and didn’t give up the run game last week in Chicago.

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