How did the Panthers do in fantasy football? Will those trends continue?
The Carolina Panthers again got trounced, this time by the Los Angeles Chargers. Let’s take a look back at how 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 played well enough to get himself benched after just two games under new head coach Dave Canales. His 84 passing yards and one interception landed him with a grand total of 1.96 fantasy points. Chase Daniel did a fantastic film breakdown and made it seem like the plays would have worked if Bryce had trusted his protection and system more. Andy Dalton will likely be much better in this regard, so he might be someone to claim and stash if you’re QB hungry.
Runningback
Chuba Hubbard
I’ll give Canales credit this week for really pounding the rock, at least early on. He only had 10 carries but managed over six yards per carry. That efficiency helped him get 11.6 points this week in fantasy. With a more efficient offense overall, Chuba could be a solid RB2 or RB3/flex option if he keeps his yards per carry that high.
Miles Sanders
Sanders once again split the carries almost equally, toting the rock seven times. Unfortunately, he averaged less than three yards per carry, netting only 5.5 fantasy points. He is still not a viable option in fantasy at this point. We’ll see how he does with Dalton under center, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for the Eagles version of Miles Sanders.
Wide Receiver
Diontae Johnson
If Johnson really did ignore Bryce Young on the sidelines in last week’s game, he had good reason. He again only has six targets, this time catching just three passes for only 15 yards. His 4.5 fantasy points was an increase from last week, but look for him to have a jump in production with a different signal caller.
Adam Thielen
Thielen also had a negative opinion of Bryce Young’s performance on Sunday, showing a surprising amount of frustration on the field. The guy who nabbed a hundred catches on a terrible offense last season only saw three targets all game. He ended up with only four fantasy points, about half of his Week 1 total. I do see him getting back to at least that level of productivity this week.
Xavier Legette
Zero targets. None. At all. For the guy they traded up to get. Maybe Dalton gets the rookie going, maybe not. Let Legette stay a free agent until he proves some level of rapport with whoever the quarterback is moving forward.
Tight End
Ja’Tavion Sanders
He caught both of his targets, but Sanders only gained eight yards. Tommy Tremble was targeted twice as many times, so we’ll have to wait and see if anything changes with a different man under center.
Defense/Special Teams
It is so hard to get a read on this defense. Obviously, they didn’t play incredibly well, but they did perform much better from a fantasy standpoint. They forced a couple turnovers and notched a sack en route to five fantasy points. If the offense can hold onto the ball a little longer and let the defense rest, they may be able to get more stops and splash plays.