Panthers Tracks: Carolina should consider Charlotte’s Benny LeMay in the NFL Draft
.JPG "East running back Benny LeMay, of Charlotte, (32) scores against the West safety Austin Lee, of BYU, (23) during the first half of the East West Shrine football game Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)")
Keep Benny LeMay in Charlotte.
Did you see what he did Saturday? Keep the hometown story alive for a guy who graduated from Butler High in 2016 before becoming the Charlotte 49ers’ all-time leading FBS rusher (3,232 career yards).
In Saturday’s East-West Shrine Bowl in Florida, LeMay (5-foot-9, 215 pounds) was named offensive MVP after rushing for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, including the game-winning score. If there was doubt beforehand, he helped show NFL scouts that he’s someone they should consider drafting come April.
Why not have that team be the Panthers?
Right, right. The Panthers already have three running backs on the active roster — but can you name them all?
You know Christian McCaffrey. You probably remember Reggie Bonnafon. And then there’s Mike Davis, the fifth-year pro out of South Carolina, who the Panthers claimed off waivers in Week 11.
Three running backs, and only one who mattered for the franchise in 2019.
McCaffrey, who became the third running back in NFL history to have more than 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season, played more snaps than anyone at his position in 2019 (1,039). Bonnafon played 39 snaps and Davis eight. Had it not been for Bonnafon’s 59-yard touchdown run against Jacksonville that proved to be the game-winner, chances are his name might escape you.
The Panthers’ offense revolved around McCaffrey. Without a reliable quarterback or consistent receivers, they had no other option but to RunCMC. Luckily for them, he stayed healthy all year. Less fortunately, Carolina was unable to find out what they had behind him on the depth chart. Perhaps Bonnafon can be an asset, and perhaps a long touchdown run against the NFL’s fifth-worst rushing defense is as good as it gets.
Carolina drafted running back Jordan Scarlett (on injured reserve) out of Florida in the fifth round last year, and the team hasn’t taken running backs in consecutive years since Cameron Artis-Payne (Round 5, 2015), Tyler Gaffney (6, 2014) and Kenjon Barber (6, 2013). The Panthers have enough needs they must address with their picks in the draft, from offensive line and quarterback to linebacker and secondary, that they shouldn’t entertain any position but those until the sixth round.
WalterFootball.com has LeMay as one of their 20 best running backs in this year’s draft class and projects him as a fourth-to-sixth rounder. (He’s No. 22 on that list, but Clemson’s Travis Etienne and Oklahoma State’s Chubba Hubbard are both returning to school.) If he gets picked beforehand, congratulations to him. But if he’s available at pick 165 or 199, the return on investment might yield high potential.
His bill of health has remained as clean as you could ask for from a running back. He played in nine games as a true freshman (one start), 11 as a sophomore (eight), started all 12 games as a junior and 11 of 13 this fall. Despite missing two games nursing an Achilles tendon injury, he was still Conference USA’s second-leading rusher with 1,082 yards, leader in average all-purpose yards with 119.5 (third in total all-purpose yards with 1,314) and had 13 total touchdowns.
No one is saying draft the heir apparent to McCaffrey.
But as far as backups go, LeMay is as good a bet as any. Perhaps he could rush for the 1 yard Carolina needs at the goal line with the game on the line.
Playoff update
AFC Championship: Chiefs 35, Titans 24
NFC Championship: 49ers 37, Packers 20
Super Bowl: Chiefs vs. 49ers, 6:30 p.m. Feb. 2 (FOX)
Required reading
+ What the Carolina Panthers’ offense could look like with Joe Brady calling the plays
+ (Updated) Panthers coaching staff tracker: Matt Rhule’s staff adding more from Baylor
+ ‘Luke Kuechly was the bar.’ Dan Morgan knows the path from concussions to retirement
This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
