How did the Panthers do in fantasy football? Will those trends continue?
The Carolina Panthers came up just short for the third week in a row, losing a hard fought game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s take a look back at how individual Panthers players fared and if they are worth keeping moving forward. For these articles, I will be using fantasy totals in an ESPN Fantasy league I am part of, so your numbers might have been slightly different.
Quarterback
Bryce Young
Bryce Young was once again very good from a game management standpoint but did not put up incredible statistics. Panthers fans, I’m sure, are fine with that. His fantasy owners, however, were likely disappointed by the 12.54 fantasy points last week from Bryce. He threw for under 200 yards and had one (should have been two) touchdown and one interception. He’s not a player that fantasy teams can rely on, though he is starting to look like a quarterback the Panthers can rely on.
Running Backs
Chuba Hubbard
Chuba has been the workhorse for Carolina all year, and that will continue as Jonathon Brooks and Raheem Blackshear both went down with injuries early on against the Eagles. His 26 carries and 30 total touches were both his second highest of the season so far. While he did not break the century mark, he did find the endzone (twice, but the first one was stolen by the refs leading to the second one being necessary). His activity in the pass game also helps in PPR leagues. With Carolina dredging the depths for running backs, Chuba is a must start in most leagues.
Wide Receivers
Xavier Legette
The rookie growing pains are excruciating right now for XL. He was held quiet for the vast majority of the game, but showed up big on a fourth down desperation play with Bryce throwing from his own endzone. That catch alone got him most of his 39 yards. Later in the drive, he dropped a beautiful deep ball from Bryce that should have been a game-tying touchdown. Instead, he didn’t come close to hauling it in, the Panthers hopes dying just a couple plays later. Still, he did have eight targets in the game, so Bryce does trust him. If he can get a JUGS machine to follow him everywhere, he could be in line for some good fantasy production.
Adam Thielen
Adam Thielen is back and picking up right where he left off as Bryce Young’s favorite target. He had 11 balls thrown his way, catching nine of them for over 100 yards. He didn’t find the endzone, but still managed 19.2 fantasy points last week. If the Panthers keep finding themselves in close games, Thielen will keep being targeted a lot. A few of the fourth down plays had Bryce only looking Thielen’s way, and those have worked so far.