Panthers Bury AJ Dillon at RB4 — Is the Quadfather Even Making the 53?

The first unofficial Carolina Panthers depth chart landed this week, and the name buried at the very bottom of the running back room tells the story: AJ Dillon, the man once nicknamed the Quadfather, is listed as RB4. That's behind Chuba Hubbard, Jonathon Brooks, and second-year back Trevor Etienne — the last of whom mostly earns his keep on special teams as a returner.

For a player carrying our rank of #441 overall (#93 at the position), this isn't a demotion so much as a warning shot. Dillon managed just 9 PPR points across seven games last season (2025 — actual), on 60 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards. There's not much fantasy meat on that bone, and the depth chart makes clear the Panthers aren't planning to feed him any.

What the Chart Actually Says

Carolina's top of the room isn't the surprise. Hubbard and Brooks are the obvious 1-2 punch, and nobody expected that to change. The intrigue is entirely in the pecking order underneath, where Etienne slid ahead of Dillon despite the veteran being a genuinely useful short-yardage hammer.

Dillon showed exactly that in the Hall of Fame Game, punching one in and reminding everyone why teams keep him around. He's a specialist — goal-line carries, third-and-1, the grind-it-out stuff. That role has value to a coaching staff. It has almost none to a fantasy manager.

The real question is whether he even survives to Week 1. Carrying four running backs to the 53-man cut is doable, and Etienne's return duties give him a leg up on a roster spot. Dillon's path is murkier. A power back who doesn't play on teams is a luxury a lot of rosters can't afford.

The Fantasy Fallout

Let's be blunt: Dillon isn't a draftable asset in any standard format right now, and this depth chart cements that. Even in deep leagues, an RB4 with a shaky roster case and a 9-PPR-point 2025 season isn't worth a bench stash. If you were rostering him in a dynasty holdover, this is your cue to move on.

The winners here are the guys above him. Hubbard is the clear workhorse and a legitimate weekly starter. Brooks, if healthy, is the handcuff worth targeting late — he's the one who inherits real volume if Hubbard goes down, not Dillon. Etienne is more of a special-teams flyer than a fantasy factor, but his depth-chart edge matters for real-life roster math.

If you're in a bench-heavy dynasty format and want a lottery ticket on short-yardage touchdowns, Dillon is the definition of a wait-and-see name — but only after the final cuts confirm he's actually on the roster. For everyone in redraft, this is a straightforward drop or ignore.

Bottom line: the Quadfather has the muscle but not the map. Until Carolina gives him a path to touches that isn't goal-line-only, treat him as roster filler and spend your bench spot on someone with an actual role. Keep your eyes on Hubbard's workload and Brooks' health instead — that's where the Panthers backfield value lives.