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The Panthers Player You Should Watch as Training Camp Continues
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Jonathon Brooks' NFL career got off to a rocky start.
After being drafted by the Carolina Panthers , the running back has spent the last two seasons trying to get healthy rather than showing what he can do on the field. Two ACL injuries have limited him to just three career games, turning his early NFL journey into a test of patience.
Now, Brooks finally has a chance to change that story. The Panthers running back is already making an impression during training camp, and the biggest difference is simple: He's healthy.
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After everything he's dealt with, just getting through a full offseason was important. But Brooks isn't looking at 2026 as a chance to simply get back on the field. He's trying to take over the backfield.
He has an opportunity, too. With Rico Dowdle no longer in Carolina, there are plenty of carries available. Brooks has a chance to carve out a major role and show why the Panthers believed in him when they selected him.
The early reviews have been encouraging. Teammates and coaches have praised his conditioning, his preparation, and the way he's looked during the summer. For a player who has spent so much time rehabbing, seeing him move confidently again is a big step.
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Brooks showed plenty of talent at Texas before entering the NFL, with the speed, vision, and ability to make defenders miss that made him one of the top running back prospects in his class. The question was never really about what he could do. It was whether his body would allow him to do it.
So far, things are trending in the right direction.
The Panthers don't need Brooks to do everything perfectly in one week of training camp. They just need him to keep having good days and remind everyone why they drafted him.
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