CHARLOTTE — The Panthers spent the offseason collecting depth and talent on offense, and now it's time to figure out how to deploy it.

For Panthers offensive coordinator Brad Idzik, it means striking the right balance with his two 1,000-yard rushers and a rookie who could join them on the field at points this year.

After Chuba Hubbard's breakout season (1,195 rushing yards, 1,366 from scrimmage) and contract extension, the Panthers added former Dallas free agent Rico Dowdle (1,079 rushing, 1,328 from scrimmage) to complement him.

Then they added rookie Trevor Etienne in the fourth round, with an eye toward returns at first, but a role in the offense at some point.

So when he was asked on Thursday how he planned to use them, Idzik said he's glad not to have to worry about it.

"I think first and foremost, it's a body of work by Chuba," Idzik said. "He's a big piece of who we were last year and who we are going forward. We know the style of runner he is on game day. We know the other two as well; they've proven themselves throughout this spring. We've seen Rico's tape. We've seen him back that up in person, same thing with Trevor. Everybody saw it in the preseason, the way he runs and finishes his runs.

"So I don't think we put a number on it, but you just feel blessed to have three guys that run the ball the right way, and then you kind of see as the game goes and you try to make sure that they're all playing fresh."

Hubbard missed the final two games of the season after posting a career-high 250 attempts, so the idea of spelling him during the season to preserve him with Dowdle is smart.

"The benefit from having all three is we don't need to run Chuba dry early," Idzik said. "We have two good runners with him. So, it's a long season. Just like the receiver room question, we know we're going to have to have all those guys available on a weekly basis, so keeping them fresh and keeping them running full speed, we don't lose a tick when one goes in versus the other.

"So we're not going to put a number on it right now, but we are going to make sure that all those guys are prepped for all the different carries that we're going to ask them to have."

Jaguars present a great first test for rebuilt Panthers defense

Ejiro Evero knows Sunday will be a challenge, given the Jaguars' varied breadth of talent, but that's where the excitement lies.

"It's a challenge, certainly, just because one, we have an idea what they're going to do, but not quite sure where they're going to line everybody up," explained the defensive coordinator Thursday morning.

The Jaguars added Heisman-winning two-way player Travis Hunter this spring in the draft. He provides an interesting dynamic as it is, given Evero will be the first D-coordinator to face him in the NFL and in this offense.

But he's far from the only young playmaker Jacksonville is fielding. Trevor Lawrence will also have second-year receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season, as well as a stable of running backs.

"They have so many talented ball carriers and receivers like (Travis) Etienne and the two you talked about, (tight end Brenton) Strange," continued Evero. "So they're a very talented group and they have a lot of guys that can really create problems in terms of their offensive skill set, so we know we've got a big challenge ahead of us."

The Panthers are hopeful some of that will be negated by the return of Derrick Brown, but also the defensive front that general manager Dan Morgan has spent this offseason fortifying.

"Obviously, it starts with Derrick Brown, A'Shawn Robinson, Tershawn Wharton, Bobby Brown III, all of those guys have done a really good job, they've had a really good camp," said Evero. "They're ready to go. They're ready to go play, and so that's exciting; excited about what we're seeing from the edge guys as well, D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones II, the two young guys, Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen, DJ Johnson, Thomas Incoom, so all of these guys have really, really just improved all of their games, have really increased, they're all game ready and so we're excited to see what they can do."

And we'd be remiss not to take this opportunity, as Evero did himself at the top of his press conference, to wish his wife, Natalie, a happy birthday.

Kickoff is still an evolving process

The NFL introduced new kickoff rules ahead of last season, meaning teams spent much of 2024 just trying to figure out their initial approach to the changes. The Panthers, under special teams coordinator Tracy Smith, took a different style than most teams, namely with how the units lined up on kickoffs and kickoff returns. But that doesn't necessarily mean they'll continue to do so.

"If something comes up that seems better, that seems like something to try, you have to be open to that," Smith said Thursday morning ahead of the Panthers' Week 1 matchup.

It's a mindset that every team has to take right now, according to Smith, considering the kickoff changes—relative to the rest of the game—are still very much in their infancy.

"The whole NFL is on game 21, not counting the playoffs, of this particular set of rules, so it's still kind of at the beginning."

The Panthers averaged 25.2 yards per return in 2024, while holding opponents to an average of 24.3 yards per return. And while those numbers weren't at the top of the league, they weren't at the bottom either, so while the Panthers and the NFL as a whole continue to discover the best way to approach this form of kickoffs, Smith prefers his unit to be productive over anything.

"There is an opportunity cost of just changing everything week to week," Smith explained. "You lose some of what you're doing sometimes, even if you're doing the wrong thing, if you're good at the wrong thing, you're more successful than picking the perfect thing and being bad at it. So, there's a balance there.

"But in all phases we like to be variable about what we're showing, so what we show in return, kickoff, kickoff return, field goal block, not necessarily the field goal team, but you want to have some options so that you're not easy to defend. So that plays into trying something new because they don't know what's coming.

"And then maybe, maybe by just experimenting, you can kind of fall into a win surreptitiously."