The Carolina Panthers suffered two heartbreaking losses at Lincoln Financial Field this past Sunday. Not only did they lose the game, just missing out on 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 re-tore the ACL in his right knee during his first and only carry of the Week 14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. His rookie campaign was officially ended on Tuesday, as the team placed him on injured reserve.
This is the second tear to the same ACL in as many years. Brooks saw his collegiate career cut short in November of 2023, when he sustained the first tear while still playing for the University of Texas Longhorns.
Brooks’ year, which was already condensed upon missing the first 10 games of the season, is now over after only three appearances. And with ACL recoveries needing long-term fixes, the 21-year-old may not see in-game action again until 2026.
So, this latest setback has brought back the question that clouded this relationship when it first began—was Brooks worth the selection for 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 of more immediate need—such as cornerback Mike Sainristil, center Zach Frazier or wide receiver Adonai Mitchell?
Was Brooks really the best available player on their board?
And if so, why take a player who is coming off a major injury?
When president of football operations and general manager Dan Morgan originally jumped to take Brooks, the intention was to surround quarterback Bryce Young with enough talent as possible. Brooks was arguably the best player at his position in last spring’s class and his talent would’ve given Carolina a potent one-two punch in the backfield, with veteran Chuba Hubbard leading the way.
The Panthers were expected to be a run-first team under first-year head coach Dave Canales. And with his regime focused on growth and development, Brooks was primed to eventually phase out Miles Sanders—the last regime’s failed free-agent signing from 2023.
In hindsight, no one could’ve expected Brooks to re-injure his knee. There is always risk in each draft selection, and not every one of them is going to work out as planned.
Now, this isn’t 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’re trying to build it around their quarterback, and Brooks is an offensive weapon who was their top talent at that part of the draft.
But we won’t know, perhaps for a few more years, if Brooks really was the right call or not. He is a gifted running back—one that could’ve gone in the first round had he not been injured and one that would’ve provided a whole new dimension to the Carolina offense if he stayed healthy.
So while it is fair to question the investment, there is no definitive answer to it—at least not yet.
