Jonathon Brooks

Jonathon Brooks is a wonderful wild card pick for 2026 with big-time upside. Brooks has had enough time to recuperate from his second torn ACL that he should enter camp this season and Week 1 fully healthy. Chuba Hubbard lost his starting job to Rico Dowdle last season, and Carolina let him walk in the offseason. Outside of Brooks and Hubbard, Carolina has only Trevor Etienne and A.J. Dillon on the roster, so Carolina is heavily betting on Brooks to return to his collegiate form. Brooks could pull an Uncle Rico from last year and steal Hubbard's starting job in 2026. Just to remind everyone about the talent that Brooks has, in 2024 (his final collegiate season), he ranked 21st in yards after contact per attempt, ninth in elusive rating, and 21st in yards per route run (per PFF). I'll be drafting Brooks a ton this season.

Jonathon Brooks was seen working off to the side with trainers on Monday.

Fantasy Impact

Head coach Dave Canales said last week that he was “very optimistic” that Brooks would play in Week 1. It remains unclear what the exact injury is that he is dealing with. His status will need to continue to be monitored the rest of the week.