CHARLOTTE, N. C. -- Entering the 2008 draft, few had running back as a priority for the Carolina Panthers because they had 2006 first-round pick DeAngelo Williams ready to step into the lead role after they released DeShaun Foster.
So there was surprise, some might say shock, when they selected Jonathan Stewart with the No. 13 overall pick.
There was similar surprise in the second-round of the 2024 draft when Carolina traded up six spots to select Texas running back Jonathon Brooks No. 46 overall less than a month after new coach Dave Canales talked about how "fired up'' he was with the backfield combination of Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders.
Some draft analysts called it a "reach'' because Brooks is coming off surgery to repair a torn right ACL and for what Carolina gave up to get him -- 1,930 points (picks No. 52, No. 142, No. 155) for 1,060 points (pick No. 46) on the Fitzgerald-Spielberger NFL draft trade value chart.
Canales and new general manager Dan Morgan can only hope the move turns out as well for them as selecting Stewart in 2008 did for the Panthers. Stewart and Williams combined for 2,351 yard rushing and 28 of the team's NFL-best 30 rushing touchdowns that season to earn the nickname "Double Trouble.'' Coming off a 7-9 record in 2007, the Panthers tied the New York Giants for the best record in the NFC at 12-4.
"What I would say is we got a really good running back room right now,'' Morgan said confidently when a reporter suggested the selection of Brooks caught some off guard.
Carolina isn't following the current NFL trend of devaluing the running back position. Canales has gone out of his way to talk about his commitment to the running game as part of what will help second-year quarterback Bryce Young and the offense rebound from a dreadful 2023 season.
Morgan knows from experience the importance of having multiple threats in the backfield. He was a linebacker for the 2003 Panthers who ranked seventh in rushing with the duo of Stephen Davis and Foster en route to a trip to the Super Bowl, two years after having an NFL-worst 1-15 season with one of the league's worst rushing attacks.
"We value the running backs,'' Morgan said. "We value the run game. ... We're going to be running the ball, and we are [going to be] a physical team.''
Canales agreed.
"For us, just knowing the style of football we're going to play, that position is so important,'' he said.
Former Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme believes Young will benefit from the addition of Brooks just as he did from having two strong backs in 2003 and 2008.
"A running game is a quarterback's best friend,'' he said. "That's what wins consistently in this league. It even makes the defense better. ... I for sure know I liked having DeAngelo and Jonathan.''
Versatility is what Canales wants. That's why they wanted the 6-foot-1, 216-pound Brooks, who is a more physical and explosive back than Hubbard, Sanders and Rashaad Penny, who is expected to soon reunite with Canales after their days with the Seattle Seahawks.
"[Brooks is] a bigger back. He's got range,'' Canales said. "There is so much that he brings from a versatility standpoint. Then just vision, patience, contact balance, acceleration; like he's got it all. Best back in this class.''
Brooks also has fresh legs. He totaled 238 carries in three seasons at Texas; 51 his first two seasons because he was backing up Bijan Robinson, the No. 8 overall pick of the 2023 draft by the Atlanta Falcons.
He likens his own game to that of Robinson, who had 214 caries for 976 yards and caught 58 passes for 487 yards as a rookie despite sharing carries with Tyler Allgeier (186 carries for 683 yards).
"Because [Robinson] makes people miss, he's fast, he catches the ball, he can do a lot of things,'' Brooks said. "Like, I'm just allusive. I'm a back that I'm not going to be the fastest on the field, but I'm going to make you miss.
"I'm not going to go down on the first contact, and for me ... it's being explosive.''
Carolina lacked explosiveness in 2023, making Brooks more of a need than many realized. The offense had only nine rushes of 20-plus yards and one for a touchdown. Brooks had 11 such runs in 2023, including four for touchdowns.
The Panthers had seven total rushing touchdowns in 2023, tied with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings for fewest in the NFL.
"So it wasn't necessarily a void we were trying to fill there,'' Canales said. "It's just the type of players we are looking for. How much can they bring? What can they do? We talk about this a lot. We are really concerned about what our players can do, not what they can't do.''
Hubbard likely will enter training camp as the lead back because Brooks isn't expected to be medically cleared from his knee surgery until just prior to training camp. There is a fair chance Brooks will be eased into the lead role.
As for Sanders -- who is in the second year of a four-year, $25.4 million deal and coming off a disappointing season during which he averaged a career-worst 3.3 yards per carry and lost the starting job to Hubbard -- Morgan insisted there are no plans to trade him.
"We love Miles,'' said Morgan, who also beefed up the offensive line by spending $150 million on guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis to help the running game and protect Young. "We see a big role for him. ... He can do a lot for our offense. He's versatile in the pass game and a really good runner.''
Having multiple backs with different talents is a proven philosophy.
"All of these guys are going to play,'' Canales said. "Every team I've been on, we used all of our running backs at different points because it's such a violent position. ... It's going to be a non-negotiable for us.''