It’s been five seasons since the Carolina Panthers made their last playoff appearance. Since then, eight different quarterbacks have started at least one game for the franchise. Trading up to the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to select the potential future of their franchise felt long overdue. The Carolina Panthers are committed to a rebuild with an entirely new coaching staff, as well. This rebuild may not take long, though, with the NFC South seemingly wide open. This reboot and the players on this roster will have a big impact this fantasy football season as well, so let’s break it down.
Carolina Panthers Fantasy Football Preview
Key Subtractions and Additions
Subtractions: D’Onta Foreman (RB), Matt Ioannidis (DE)
Additions: Bryce Young (rookie QB), Andy Dalton (QB), Miles Sanders (RB), Adam Thielen (WR), D.J. Chark (WR), Jonathan Mingo (rookie WR), Hayden Hurst (TE), Vonn Bell (S), Shy Tuttle (DT), Frank Reich (head coach)
Positional Previews
Quarterback
It’s very rare that a rookie quarterback yields start-worthy fantasy numbers out of the gate. In fact, over the last 10 seasons, just two rookie quarterbacks, drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, finished inside the top-12 of fantasy quarterbacks as a rookie. I go into more detail in my 2023 Rookie Quarterbacks article, but the history does not favor Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young this season.
There’s plenty of reason to like Young long-term and, yes, of course, there’s a chance he puts up solid fantasy numbers as a rookie. The Carolina Panthers traded up from the ninth pick to the first-overall pick to select Young. Their revamped coaching staff of Frank Reich, Thomas Brown, Parks Frazier, Josh McCown, and others is one of the best groups of coaches I’ve seen assembled, especially for a rookie quarterback to learn under.
A concern with Young is his size. His 5’10” and 204-pound measurements at the NFL Combine had a lot of people writing him off. However, at one of the top programs in college football, the University of Alabama, Young excelled as a two-year starter. He won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore, throwing for 4,872 passing yards with 50 total touchdowns, including three rushing TDs. With good protection up front, Young can pick apart defenses and he rarely turns the ball over.
Bryce Young looks to be the Week 1 starter for the Carolina Panthers. Fantasy managers in 1QB leagues would be wise to wait a few weeks to see his adjustment to the pros before plugging him into starting lineups. For Superflex and 2QB leagues, Young is most likely going to finish as a mid-to-low-end QB2 in his first season with weekly QB1 potential. The good news for this offense is that if Young does sit at any point, Andy Dalton is his backup. Dalton is by no means an elite option but can run an efficient offense where the top weapons don’t completely bottom out.
Running Back
“Boobie” Miles Sanders is the top player to target out of the Carolina Panthers’ 2023 backfield. He was one of their biggest free agency acquisitions of this offseason, and for good reason. His 2022 season was by far a career-best. Sanders logged 279 total touches in 17 regular season games for the Philadelphia Eagles. With such significant volume, he totaled 1,347 scrimmage yards and 11 rushing touchdowns, which is two more than his career total up until last season.
I firmly believe the Carolina Panthers are bringing in Miles Sanders to handle a similar workload. More importantly, a more significant amount of his touches could come through the air. Considering Jalen Hurts’ own affinity to run the ball, check-down passes to Sanders weren’t a common practice.
With Bryce Young as his quarterback, I think Sanders will see closer to 50-60 targets, something he did in each of his first two professional seasons. Running backs coach, Duce Staley, is a big reason why. Sanders now reunites with coach Staley in Carolina.
Behind Sanders are Chuba Hubbard, Raheem Blacksheer, and Spencer Brown. Hubbard is most likely to lead a committee of the three if Sanders misses time. This lackluster depth is just further evidence of a high-volume season from Miles Sanders.
Wide Receiver
It’s hard to imagine any of the Carolina Panthers wide receivers logging 1,000 or more yards this season. This group of pass-catchers is a large mix of returning players, free agency adds, and rookie draft picks., none of whom jump off the page.
The biggest name of the bunch is Adam Thielen. He’s turning 33 years old in August and is entering his 10th NFL season. Thielen’s last season of 1,000 or more receiving yards was in 2018 when he set a career-high in targets (153), receptions (113), and receiving yards (1,373). It’s unrealistic to expect anything close to that from him given his age and with a rookie quarterback throwing his way. Thielen does provide reliability in the red zone, however. In his last 45 games, he’s scored 34 touchdowns, 25 of which were scored inside the red zone.
D.J. Chark is a deep ball, big play threat. He will continue to be for the Carolina Panthers. He has an average of 3.27 receptions per game in his career but a notable 17.7 yards per catch average over the last two seasons on two different teams.
Laviska Shenault Jr. is a versatile threat the Panthers can hand the ball off to or get it to quickly and let him run. Terrace Marshall is unproven with just 45 receptions in two seasons. He did score 23 touchdowns in his final 19 games at LSU before entering the NFL. At 6’2″ and 220 pounds, Jonathan Mingo is one of the larger receivers of the 2023 rookie class. This new Carolina Panthers regime drafted Mingo, giving him a slight edge over both Shenault and Marshall who were already on the roster.
Given where these receivers are going in drafts, they’re all low-risk with the potential for a nice reward if they hit. I am most likely to target them in a best ball format than redraft. Thielen is the most trustworthy of them all to put up points. If I had to pick someone else, give me Mingo as he develops a rapport with Bryce Young in their first season. Neither are more than a flex this fantasy football season.
Tight End
Hayden Hurst is one of my favorite late-round targets in fantasy drafts this season. Considering how unpredictable the tight end position can be in fantasy football, Hurst is worth betting on toward the end of your drafts. With the intention of drafting a quarterback, the Carolina Panthers secured Hurst on a three-year deal in free agency with 60% of it guaranteed. Hurst is a former first-round pick who landed a big deal on his fourth team.
Amidst varying injuries to the Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receivers last season, Hurst was a steady option for Joe Burrow in the passing game. In just 13 games last season, Hurst logged 70 targets, the 12th-most amongst all tight ends. That’s on a Cincy offense with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd at any given time. He’s now competing with Adam Thielen, D.J. Chark, rookie Jonathan Mingo, Terrace Marshall, and LaViska Shenault for targets in Carolina.
More likely than not, Hurst will serve as a streaming option in 2023. If you plan to stream the position, Hurst should be on your radar for Week 1. Hurst and the Carolina Panthers will open the season on the road against NFC South rivals, the Atlanta Falcons. Last season, the Falcons defense allowed the third-most fantasy points per game (9.4) to tight ends. That includes the seventh-most receptions, yards, and ninth-most touchdowns on the fourth-most targets. In Bryce Young’s expected first game, Hurst could be a major contributor.
Defense/Special Teams
It’s encouraging to see the Carolina Panthers add to their defense in free agency ahead of the 2023 season. Linebackers Brian Burns and Shaq Thompson are the top returning players on this side of the ball. Key acquisitions like Vonn Bell and Shy Tuttle will have an immediate impact up front and in the secondary. While the Panthers have allowed less points per game each season since 2019, they’re not yet a dominant unit to set and forget in fantasy lineups. There will be a few opportunities to stream this defense, but they don’t stand out as a top option.
For more great rankings and analysis, make sure to check out our 2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit!
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— Lisa Ann (@thereallisaann) May 6, 2023