2026 Season Opener Countdown: 16 Days Remaining

If there's one position group that's always been a strength of the Carolina Panthers, it's running back. That's in large part due to the fact that the franchise has historically over-invested in the position, but at least they've gotten strong returns for those investments. A quintessential example of that is Jonathan Stewart, who comes in as the highest ranked running back on our list.

The Panthers used a first round pick (13th overall) on Stewart despite having used a first round pick on current starter DeAngelo Williams just two years prior. While the allocation of resources was definitely not the most efficient, it did create one of if not the most memorable player duo in the team's history. He and Williams combined to form Double Trouble. Stewart racked up 836 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie despite splitting time with Williams. In Stewart's second season, Williams missed a couple games due to injury, and that allowed both to top 1,100 rushing yards for the season. It remains the only time that's been done in the history of the NFL, and I'd venture to guess that record is pretty safe for the foreseeable future.

Stewart would continue to split carries with Williams until the latter was let go by Dave Gettleman in one of many high-animosity moves. That finally gave Stewart the backfield mostly to himself for the first time in his career, and he responded with two seasons in which he would have been well on pace to top 1,000 yards had he not missed a couple games each season due to injury. The Panthers continued their trend of over-investing in the position by drafting McCaffrey in the first round of the 2017 draft after those two seasons from Stewart. Stewart served as the veteran battering ram while the shifty McCaffrey got up to speed with the NFL.