Carolina Panthers Fantasy Football Preview
Matt Rhule is now the Head Coach. He brings in a new OC (Joe Brady) and DC (Phil Snow). Cam Newton is gone and Teddy Bridgewater is the new QB. Greg Olsen is gone and now Ian Thomas looks to fill the void. They added Robbie Anderson to reunite with Rhule; his college coach. Luke Kuechly retired and now the defense must go on without him. Is anything the same in Carolina? I’m not sure what the team will look like but I know one thing is for sure: In CMC We Trust!
Schedule
- Week 1: Raiders
- Week 2: @ Buccaneers
- Week 3: @ Chargers
- Week 4: Cardinals
- Week 5: @ Falcons
- Week 6: Bears
- Week 7: @ Saints
- Week 8: Falcons
- Week 9: @ Chiefs
- Week 10: Buccaneers
- Week 11: Lions
- Week 12: @ Vikings
- Week 13: Bye
- Week 14: Broncos
- Week 15: @ Packers
- Week 16: @ Washington
- Week 17: Saints
Players To Know
- Teddy Bridgewater-QB: Last season Teddy Bridgewater stepped in for Drew Brees and had a lot of positives around him on offense. His RB was Alvin Kamara. His WR was Michael Thomas. The O-Line he played with was one of the best in the NFL. Teddy took advantage of that and played his way to a new contract with the Panthers. Whether Bridgewater is the future or the now he reunites with Joe Brady. Brady was an Offensive Assistant for the Saints in 2018 and Bridgewater was a backup QB. Bridgewater and Brady formed a relationship and stayed in touch when Brady went to LSU. Bridgewater has noted that Brady used some of the Saints concepts while at LSU from what he saw during LSU games. These two are familiar with one another and it should ease the transition to a new offensive system. I want to believe in Teddy and even though this will be a tough season he will put together 4000ish yards and 25 TDs.
- Christian McCaffrey-RB: So the defense is a mess meaning they will be trailing forcing passing situations and that is how CMC will finish again with more than 100 receptions. Now I will throw out my crazy prediction CMC could have more receptions this season than he did last season. CMC and DJ Moore accounted for 45% of targets last season and that should not change much in my opinion. He is the #1 Overall Fantasy Football Pick for the 2020 Season. I expect him to total 2200 total yards and 16 total TDs.
- DJ Moore-WR: Besides McCaffrey DJ Moore is the only other real player with fantasy value on the roster. I think 130 targets again this season is a realistic outcome. While Curtis Samuel and Robbie Anderson are both capable WRs neither one of them has the pure talent of DJ Moore. Moore will continue to serve as the lead option in the passing game. While all the opportunities may not equate to a plethora of scores he will be a PPR machine. 90 receptions for 1150 yards and 5 TDs.
- Curtis Samuel-WR: He has a bunch of talent but he just hasn’t been able to show it on the field. And now he is fighting for targets. The addition of Robbie Anderson will hurt Samuel as he is now 4th in the target order at best. It doesn’t look like Samuel has much to offer to fantasy rosters.
- Robby Anderson-WR: You can’t blame him for the struggles in New York. The Jets are a mess and while he does hold some blame it is not all his blame. He gets a fresh scene in Carolina and is back with college coach Matt Rhule. Rhule and Anderson have a special relationship that goes as far as Rhule challenging Temple University Administration to change an academic policy as it relates to athletes re-enrolling after academic dismissal. Rhule won and Anderson came back to the Owls program. If a third player is to emerge as fantasy-relevant it would be Anderson in my opinion. And if he is to emerge let us call it season totals of 70 receptions for 900 yards and 7 TDs.
- Ian Thomas-TE: Thomas has shown flashes of potential when on the field and now this season he gets to take over for Greg Olsen. There are targets available but I think they find their way to Robby Anderson. At the moment, Thomas is nothing more than a streaming option in a good matchup. 50 catches for 530 yards and 3 TDs.
Defense
There are just so many questions with the defense. How much will losing Ron Rivera hurt? How much will not having Luke Kuechly hurt? Who will become the heart and soul of the defense? The passing unit was okay last season but it was the run that gashed the Panthers. Every week whichever RB had the Panthers Defense as a matchup they became a must-play. The defense is best left alone until we get answers to the questions.
Potential Breakout Player
- Robby Anderson-WR
Rookie To Know
- None
