Dave Canales isn’t giving up on a recent draft pick fans are ready to write off based on his latest comments at Panthers OTAs
Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales was asked after Tuesday’s OTA session about the progress 2025 fourth-round pick Trevor Etienne has made going into his second season with the team.
The talk of the town for the Carolina Panthers during OTAs the last two weeks has centered around the return of running back Jonathon Brooks, and the hype train has finally arrived onto the national scene as well.
Brooks deserves plenty of the headlines after working his way back from a second severe knee injury, but the rest of the team’s running back room is looking just as exciting with Chuba Hubbard, AJ Dillon, and Trevor Etienne.
After Tuesday’s OTA session, head coach Dave Canales was asked about the latter and shared why he doesn’t plan to give up on the second-year player the team drafted last year in the fourth-round despite fans already seeming to write him off.
Carolina Panthers HC Dave Canales sees good progress from RB Trevor Etienne
“He looks great, he looks fast, we certainly trust him back there returning the ball and the way that he’s grown in that phase,” Canales said of Etienne. “He can help the team in a lot of ways, that’ll help him too. I am excited to see him touch the ball when we get to the preseason and start playing real ball with the guys. That’s going to be exciting.”
Last season, the Panthers’ offense was fully committed to running a two-back set using Hubbard and Rico Dowdle. Etienne, as the team’s RB3, got limited action even when Hubbard was hurt, logging just 20 rushing attempts.
With Dowdle out of the door, the spot as the complement to Hubbard is wide-open, although Brooks is well on his way toward earning that role. However, that doesn’t mean Etienne has to be an offensive afterthought again in Year 2.
“Just to continue to build on all of the information for the whole offense and building that trust,” Canales added when asked what Etienne needs to show offensively. “Which he has and he’s been working really hard.”
Watching from afar on the injured reserve and working within the RB room, Brooks got a firsthand look at what Etienne could potentially offer to the backfield.
“He’s a great player,” Brooks said Tuesday after practice. “He’s elusive. He can do running back or special teams. He’s been good for us. He’s a great player on and off the field.”
Preseason will be a big opportunity for Etienne to really prove himself as an offensive contributor. He’s already taken to the punt return role and ran with it (no pun intended), despite limited experience. He’s going to have a role on this team one way or another, fans shouldn’t be writing him off too early.