Is Jonathan Stewart Overrated?
Is Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart overrated? This was a question that I had not really thought about until hit with a Doug Farrar article on SI.com where Farrar anointed Stewart has the running back on his all-overrated team.
More from Carolina Panthers
- Carolina Panthers: Secondary battles to watch in training camp 2020
- Carolina Panthers: 2020 training camp kicks off on Tuesday
- Carolina Panthers: Familiarity should help offense in 2020
- Carolina Panthers: Better or worse at running back in 2020?
- Carolina Panthers: Ranking the NFC South quarterback rooms
Farrar’s reasoning for his article stated that the players were valued more by their own teams than they were by the League at large. His belief behind Stewart’s inclusion on this list was Stewart’s inability to live up to his 2012 contract extension. He pointed out that Stewart’s history of injury linked with his lack of overall rushing success (one career 1,000 yard season) were behind his decision.
Farrar, however, said some other things that are worthy of notice because they seem to undermine his determination. For instance Farrar said “There’s no question that Stewart has the power, speed and agility to be a franchise back.”
More from Old North Banter
- Carolina Panthers: Secondary battles to watch in training camp 2020
- Carolina Panthers: 2020 training camp kicks off on Tuesday
- NC Colleges Provide Coronavirus Results from Athletic Departments
- Court alleges Zion’s Stepfather received $400k
- UNC Football gets Commitment from Top Cornerback
This should cause some head scratching. If those things are true, then it would be hard to fault the Panthers or anyone else from holding on to Stewart and hoping his health comes around. As things stand right now, Stewart is healthy and coming off his second most productive season as a pro. He will see the ball a lot this year as the main guy. The Panthers will try to mitigate poor pass blocking by finding downs-and-distance favorable for keeping defenses at home.
All of these things say that Stewart will be an integral part of team success this year. If he has the speed, power, and agility that he needs to do that, how can he be overrated as a player? Sure he may have underperformed, but that was due to injury. Is Stewart really injury prone or has he been the victim of a set of circumstances that would have hurt anyone? Whichever one it is, this year Stewart cannot prove to be overrated.