Panthers Reveal Plan for Jonathon Brooks' NFL Debut

After months and weeks of waiting, Carolina Panthers fans will get to see rookie running back Jonathon Brooks make his NFL debut on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

It’s been a long time coming for Brooks, who hasn’t played football since last November at the University of Texas. The former Longhorn standout was viewed as a potential first-round pick before suffering a torn ACL.

However, Brooks fell to the second round due to his injury and was drafted by the Panthers. Carolina hopes to unleash a dynamic running back duo featuring Chuba Hubbard on the rest of the NFL. 

On Monday, head coach Dave Canales told reporters he “fully expects” the rookie running back to play on Sunday and said Brooks will not be on a snap count.

“We’ll have a game plan for how to play him,” Canales said (h/t Alex Zietow of the Charlotte Observer). “But we’re not really looking for a specific number. That’s the whole thing, right? When you get a guy ready to play on Sunday, the confidence should be that he can go out and just play a normal football game. And so that’s what we want to make sure happens.”

It’s good to see the Panthers not put the rookie on a snap count. Brooks won’t get overworked in his debut as Carolina has a clear-cut feature back in Chuba Hubbard. The veteran running back is averaging 16.1 carries per game this season.

However, the Panthers hope the rookie will bring a spark to the RB2 spot, which they weren’t getting from veteran Miles Sanders. Brooks said on Monday that it was “the coaches' decision” on why he didn’t make his long-awaited debut in Week 10 against the New York Giants.

That said, Brooks is anxious to get on the field and compete. His first test will come against the vaunted Chiefs’ defense, which has only allowed 85.3 rushing yards per game (third-best in the NFL) this season.

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