THE Carolina Panthers suffered two heartbreaking losses at Lincoln Financial Field this past Sunday. Not only did they lose the game, narrowly missing the biggest upset of the 2024 season, but they also lost one of their very talented rookies.
Running back and 2024 second-round pick Jonathon Brooks tore the ACL in his right knee on his first and only carry of the Week 14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. His rookie campaign officially ended Tuesday, with the team placing him on injured reserve.
This is the second tear of the same ACL in as many years. Brooks had his college career cut short in November 2023, when he suffered his first tear while still playing for the University of Texas Longhorns.
Brooks’ year, which was already condensed after missing the first 10 games of the season, is now over after just three appearances. And with ACL recoveries requiring long-term fixes, the 21-year-old may not see in-game action again until 2026.
So this latest setback brought back the question that clouded this relationship to begin with: Was Brooks worth drafting to the Panthers?
Was a running back worth the 46th overall pick, a spot the organization actually traded up to?
Why not take a prospect at a position with a more immediate need, like cornerback Mike Sainristil, center Zach Frazier or wide receiver Adonai Mitchell?
Was Brooks really the best player available on their board?
And if so, why take a player who has just been seriously injured?
When president of football operations and general manager Dan Morgan initially decided to take Brooks, the intention was to surround quarterback Bryce Young with as much talent as possible. Brooks was arguably the best player at his position in last spring’s class and his talent would have given Carolina a powerful one-two punch in the backfield, with veteran Chuba Hubbard leading the way.
The Panthers were expected to be a first team under the direction of first-year head coach Dave Canales. And with his regime focused on growth and development, Brooks was poised to eventually take down Miles Sanders, the last regime’s failed free agent signing starting in 2023.
Looking back, no one could have expected Brooks to re-injure his knee. There are always risks in every selection, and not all will go as planned.
Now, that’s not to say that Brooks is already a mistake by any stretch of the imagination. The Panthers weren’t trying to build their team around the running back position, they were trying to build it around their quarterback, and Brooks is an offensive weapon who was their top talent this part of the draft.
But we won’t know, perhaps for a few years, whether Brooks was really the right decision or not. He’s a gifted running back who could have gone in the first round if he hadn’t been injured and would have brought a whole new dimension to Carolina’s offense if he had stayed healthy.
Although it is legitimate to question this investment, there is no definitive answer, at least not yet.
Related
What Jonathon Brooks’ season-ending injury means for the Panthers
Panthers All-22 Movie Review: Bryce Young Turns On Clutch Gene Against Eagles in Week 14
Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard on Jonathon Brooks’ injury: ‘It’s only going to make him better’
This article was originally published on Panthers Wire: Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks, his injury and his increasingly questionable selection
