Panthers focused on commitment to running game under new head coach Dave Canales

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales vowed to establish the running game — and remain committed to it — when he was hired five months ago.

So far he’s living up to his word.

The Panthers, who spent more than $150 million this offseason on big-body free agents guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, have placed a major priority on blocking schemes and establishing a core of running plays in training camp.

Center Austin Corbett believes Canales will stick with the plan as the Panthers seek to establish a much-needed identity on offense.

The Panthers finished near the bottom of the league in almost every statistical category on offense and failed to score in the final two games last season.

“Across the league you hear coaches say ‘we’re going to stick to run, we’re going to stick to the run,’ and then you open the stat book and you’re like, ‘oh, they threw it for 60 times this game. What happened?’” Corbett said following the team’s first padded practice Tuesday. “It happens all of the time. But I think with Dave you are going to get exactly what he says.

“That is what we saw in the spring. He’s truly is a man of his word. And now going through training camp we’re realizing that he’s not lying,” he added.

Of course, the real test will come when the Panthers fall behind in games, as they did so often in 2023.

Amazingly, Carolina never ran a single play with the lead in the fourth quarter last season. Both wins came on last-second field goals by Eddy Pineiro.

But at least for now Canales is drilling in the idea of being a dominant running team to his offensive players.

“I think the teams that play well toward the end of the season are the ones that can run the football and who can stop the run,” Canales said. “In Seattle and Tampa Bay we made sure that we established our mentality, our core runs that are important to us. ... That commitment to me is the formula that I have seen work.”

Canales came to Carolina with a reputation for elevating the play of quarterbacks Geno Smith in Seattle and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay, and he could have his hands full with second-year quarterback Bryce Young.

The 2023 No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft struggled from the onset and finished 2-14 as a starter with nearly as many interceptions (10) as touchdown passes (11). It didn’t help that he was constantly under pressure with the offensive line allowing 56 sacks, second most in the league.

Still, Canales and general manager Dan Morgan say they believe in Young.

They’re convinced he has the talent, but simply needed more experience and playmakers around him.

Along with adding the 6-foot-6, 223-pound Hunt and the 6-foot-2, 327-pound Lewis up front, Morgan also traded for veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson and selected wide receiver Xavier Legette from South Carolina after moving up into the bottom of the first round.

Running back Jonathan Brooks, a second-round pick from Tennessee, could be a major player in the backfield once he fully recovers from a torn ACL he sustained in college.

“We have to make sure that we run the ball,” Young said. “Obviously, it would set some things up for us off of that, too. We definitely see it translating out here. We see it in what the script says and we see it in our mindsets, too.”

Chuba Hubbard is expected to be Carolina’s primary ball carrier.

He replaced Miles Sanders as the team’s starter early last season, although Canales said Sanders has come into training camp highly focused and motivated. The small, but speedy Raheem Blackshear could factor in on third downs.

Regardless of who is running the football, the added beef up front should provide a boost to a team that had just one 100-yard rusher last season.

“Both Damien and Robert are both massive men and both of them can move. They’re very quick,” said Corbett, who has moved from guard to center. “It’s nice to be able to fit up some double teams with some giants that can bend like that. It makes it exciting. That’s a lot of weight inside and to be able to move some bodies and open the run game will be good.”