How did the Panthers do in fantasy football? Will those trends continue?
The Carolina Panthers have officially begun the second half of their season after this week’s bye. Now that the first half of the season is behind us, 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 has had a rocky sophomore season to say the least. Though he has one his last two starts, he was benched early in the season for Andy Dalton. After a car accident knocked Dalton out, Young has been able to hold strong to the starting role. Still, the team did not win its last two games because of Bryce. He’s only managed 49.9 fantasy points this season, throwing for 820 yards, four touchdowns, and six interceptions so far. He is definitely not worth rostering until he shows some high point potential.
Running Backs
Chuba Hubbard
In terms of fantasy points, the newly paid Chuba Hubbard is 12th among running backs. Obviously that ranking can be a little wonky depending on who has and has not had a bye week, but his very productive (especially considering circumstance) season so far has netted him 162.2 fantasy points. He’s rushed for over 800 yards already and six touchdowns, and he’s even shown flashes in the pass game as well. With the debut of Jonathon Brooks on the horizon, Hubbard might see his workload decrease. He’s still in the RB1 range until he stops producing, though.
Wide Receivers
Xavier Legette
Legette has seen his role increase the second quarter of the season as he got more acclimated to the NFL and Adam Thielen, Jonathan Mingo and Diontae Johnson did not see the field in a Panthers uniform for different reasons. He’s up to 284 yards and four touchdowns, which has gotten him 83.6 fantasy points so far. Given that the first three weeks were basically a wash for him (and the entire offense), he’s shown a lot of growth so far this season. He’s definitely someone worth stashing on the bench, though his is a little volatile because of his low target share compared to other receivers around the league.
Jalen Coker
Speaking of showing a lot of growth, the second of the Panthers dynamic rookie receiver duo has shown a ton these last several weeks. After not being buried behind Thielen, Mingo, and Johnson on the depth chart, Coker has (relatively) exploded onto the scene, notching 49.3 fantasy points so far in just six games with meaningful target share. He is another receiver who needs to find the endzone to put up elite fantasy numbers, but he’s been fairly reliable for Bryce Young and the offense. He would be another player worth considering on your bench moving forward.
Tight Ends
Ja’Tavion Sanders
Finally, we come to the final piece of the 2024 Panthers Draft (and UDFA) class to make a splash so far on offense. Which says a lot since the Panthers offense has not had much moisture to splash around so far this year. Sanders took advantage of injuries to veterans Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble to cement his role in the offense. Fantasy wise, he’s managed 57.3 points so far this season, and has been on quite a roll since Week 5 (Week 8 against Denver notwithstanding). He’s flashed the ability to use catches and yardage to boost his fantasy output and the ability to use minimal targets to find the endzone for fantasy points. If he can manage a game where he puts both together, he could easily be a great option in a weak overall tight end class. He could even be the rare tight end flex option depending on how he and Bryce continue to mesh.