Carolina Panthers: Three Position Battles to Watch in Preseason
Back-up Running Back
Christian McCaffrey is going to be this team’s workhorse. He is going to be on the field for close to 100 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. McCaffrey played 91 percent of the team’s snaps last season and gained 1,098 yards with seven touchdowns on the ground. In addition, he was the Panthers top receiver, hauling in 107 catches for 867 yards and six touchdowns.
When you have a player that crucial to the offense, it can be easy to forget about his back-ups, but there is no quicker way to lose offensive efficiency than losing a star like McCaffrey. The third-year vet has never dealt with injuries, but if he is to miss any time in 2019, the back-up running back spot will instantly become one of the most important on the team.
Leading the competition will undoubtedly be last year’s back-up, Cameron Artis-Payne, who enters his fifth season in Carolina. Artis-Payne turns 29 this season and only had 19 carries behind McCaffrey last season, averaging 3.6 yards-per-carry and one touchdown. He’s the incumbent at the position, and it will take a lot to unseat him, but his play has never been incredibly impressive. He’s likely a lock to make the roster but there are several youngsters behind him vying for snaps.
The Panthers have three young running backs on the roster, second-year player Reggie Bonnafon and rookies Elijah Holyfield and Jordan Scarlett.
Bonnafon, an undrafted free agent last season, spent last season on the team’s practice squad. He received nine carries in the 2018 preseason and rushed for 10 yards, scoring a touchdown in the final preseason game. He likely has an uphill battle to make the roster.
Holyfield has gotten a ton of buzz because he is the son of championship boxer Evander Holyfield. He left Georgia early after rushing for 1,018 yards and seven touchdowns. He was projected to be a late-round pick but a 4.78 40-yard dash time killed his draft stock and he went to the Panthers instead as an undrafted free agent.
Still, he has a chance to make this roster. The Panthers are hoping his combine performance was an aberration and he can unlock some of the explosiveness he displayed as a Bulldog. Scouts were high on him leading up to the Draft, including NFL.com:
"Bulldog runner in every sense of the word with his stout frame and aggressive running style but possessing the suddenness to elude tacklers and blow past linebackers. Holyfield is a frenetic back with a palpable energy that works in his favor but also causes diminished patience and impulsive run tracks at times…his play traits could make him a solid backup."
As with the quarterback position battle, it will be hard for coaches and the front office to overlook guys that the team used drafted capital on. That makes it much more likely that 2019 fifth-round pick Scarlett will make the roster than Holyfield.
Scarlett certainly didn’t slide down the board because of lack of talent. He was the No. 12 ranked running back in the country when he arrived at Florida and has an elite skillset and physical attributes for a running back. He slid down the board because he was suspended the Gators’ bowl game for marijuana charges and then subsequently suspended an entire season for credit card fraud in 2017.
He rebounded in 2018 to rush for 776 yards and five touchdowns. The Panthers couldn’t ignore his talent and used the 154th overall pick on him. If his past troubles are behind him, it should be an exciting sight for Panthers fans to watch his talent on the field.
Scarlett needs to work on pass-catching this preseason, which is a critical part of replacing McCaffrey’s production. It will be interesting to see how he debuts for Carolina.