The Carolina Panthers selected Alabama quarterback Bryce Young
with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, hoping to find a
new leader. Young won the Heisman Trophy in 2021, recording 4,872
passing yards and 47 touchdowns. He slightly digressed the following
year due to a subpar (for Alabama) receiving corps, but still
put up some of the best numbers in college football.
Unfortunately, Young will have to get used to subpar receivers
on the Panthers as they don't have a true WR1. However, he has
plenty of assets to turn things around in Carolina: pocket awareness,
mobility, durability and, best of all, he’s as clutch as they
come. Alabama teammate and current Detroit Lions receiver Jameson
Williams discussed Young’s abilities when the lights are brightest.
"If you were watching the game vs. Auburn, we were down 10-3,
40 seconds left," Williams said. "I would never say I’ve seen
him rattled or intimidated by anything. I feel like he has the
mindset that he knows he is going to get the job done."
Because he’s a rookie, Young’s fantasy football ranking
is in the mid-20s among quarterbacks. This is a fair assessment
due to the talent he has around him. However, his skills may not
only make him stand out in Carolina, but may improve the receivers’
reputation as well. Until then, Young won’t be selected
in redraft leagues, unless he’s taken in the last round.
Sanders was picked up by the Panthers this offseason after not
getting re-signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. The 26-year-old
is coming off his best season in the NFL, rushing for career highs
in attempts (259), yards (1,269), touchdowns (11) and earned a
trip to his first Pro Bowl.
The only reason Sanders didn’t reach the top-10 among running
backs in fantasy football was due to his receiving numbers (20
receptions, 78 yards and zero touchdowns). Luckily for Sanders,
the Panthers are known to create receiving backs.
Two-time Pro Bowler Christian McCaffrey was the heaviest contributor
to the Panthers offense, as he got involved in both the run and
air attack. However, McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco
49ers midway through last season, leaving Sanders as the RB1.
Young is also a fan of the receiving back role as he often dumped
the ball to Detroit Lions first-rounder Jahmyr Gibbs at Alabama
last season. If Sanders can find a way to continue his elite rushing,
but also incorporate some receptions, he’ll easily be a
top-10 running back in fantasy football given his projected rushing
volume. Until then, he’s an RB2 and will be drafted somewhere
within rounds 4-6.
Adam Thielen split the WR1 role with Stefon Diggs for several
years in Minnesota as they each put up excellent numbers. However,
Diggs went to Buffalo in 2020 and instead of making Thielen the
official WR1, the Vikings decided to draft someone named Justin
Jefferson.
Thielen no longer split the WR1 role as Jefferson took over beginning
his rookie season. Thielen's numbers went down significantly,
topping out in the 700-yard range each of the last two seasons.
He became a free agent this past season allowing the Panthers
to pick him up.
As mentioned before, Carolina’s receiving corps is far
from the best in the league. As a result, the nearly 33-year-old
(Aug. 22) has the opportunity to at least share the WR1 spot.
However, his age and lack of productivity since Jefferson arrived
are certainly obstacles to fulfilling this opportunity with a
new team. With that being said, Thielen will be a late-round selection
in fantasy drafts as the de facto No.1 option for Bryce Young.
Chark has struggled with injuries throughout his five-year career
and has yet to play a complete season. However, in 2019, he played
15 games and thrived, hauling in 73 receptions for 1,008 yards
and eight touchdowns, earning Pro Bowl honors with the Jacksonville
Jaguars.
Chark hasn’t done much since then and recorded just 30
receptions for 502 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games last
season for the Lions. His injuries have been a major factor, but
he was signed to Carolina this offseason and they’re hoping
he returns to his 2019 form. He’ll be competing with Thielen
for the WR1 spot and should be locked into a starting role, but
unlike Thielen, age isn’t a concern.
If he can stay healthy, the nearly 27-year-old (Sept. 23) has
the potential for a 2019 repeat on a team that lacks receiver
talent but that feels like his ceiling. He’ll likely be
drafted around the same time as Thielen in the later rounds or
perhaps go undrafted in shallow leagues.
Marshall likely won’t compete for the WR1 spot in Carolina
as he hasn’t really gotten his feet wet in the NFL. Granted,
he’s only played two seasons, but he only caught 28 passes
for 490 yards and a touchdown in 13 games last year and has found
the endzone just once in two years. However, one stat that makes
him stand out is his 17.5 yards per reception, the sixth-most
in the league.
Based on his yards per reception, he averaged 2.75 points on
each catch last season in PPR leagues. If Young somehow manages
to target him just as often as Thielen and Chark, Marshall could
be a dark horse breakout star but that seems unlikely given the
circumstances, leaving Marshall as someone to keep an eye on as
a waiver wire add once the season begins.
Ole Miss receiver Jonathan Mingo was one of, if not the most
mentioned players in the 2023 NFL Draft given the underrated label.
However, the Panthers recognized his talent by drafting him 39th
overall.
Mingo recorded 51 receptions for 861 yards (16.9 yards per carry!)
and five touchdowns in his final season as a Rebel. He is a big
6-foot-2 receiver who’s fast (4.46-second 40-yard dash) and gets
open at all three levels. Mingo is an excellent deep threat as
well, who’s capable of “mossing” defenders as
you can see in this viral clip of a one-handed snag.
However, even though the Panthers’ receiving corps is subpar,
Mingo is unlikely to be a member of the starting trio in Week
1 leaving him to waiver wire status at the beginning of the season.
But if he ever enters the starting lineup, he has the talent to
thrive and be a priority pickup.
Hayden Hurst, like each of the Panthers starting pass-catchers,
didn’t produce much last season. The offseason addition
from Cincinnati hauled in 52 receptions for 414 yards and two
touchdowns and his 105.4 fantasy points was 21st among tight ends.
Hurst averaged just 8.1 fantasy points per game because Bengals
quarterback Joe Burrow barely looked his way as he heavily targeted
receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
The Panthers haven’t had a solid tight end since Greg Olsen
and that trend will likely continue into 2023. Hurst had off-season
surgery for a sports hernia but is expected to be participating
at camp. Despite being on a new team with significantly worse
receivers, those pass catchers will likely earn more targets than
Hurst keeping him in the low-end TE2 range for fantasy purposes.
