Panthers face Chiefs, Jonathon Brooks makes NFL debut
The Carolina Panthers are coming off their Week 11 Bye to face the Chiefs. Kansas City just fell to the Bills, marking the defending champs’ first loss of the season. The Panthers downed the Giants in their last game (Week 10), but the Panthers are scoring just 16.7 points per game on the season – the 4th lowest in the NFL. The Chiefs defense has allowed just 19.4 PPG to opposing offenses, eighth-fewest in the league, and the fifth-fewest yards (297.5).
Bryce Young, who is getting his fourth straight start, threw for 224 yards and two TDs versus a tough Broncos D in Week 8, but threw for 171 yards and 126 yards, respectively, in his last two starts – one pass TD in each. It’s a low-volume pass attack with Young at the helm. No Panthers pass catcher has earned more than eight targets in any of Young’s starts. Jalen Coker drew eight against the Giants, but caught only three. Coker is tied with Xavier Legette for the team lead in targets over the last three with 17.
We could see an uptick in the Carolina passing volume against a middle of the road Kansas City pass defense, as the Chiefs’ run defense is a top-five unit. Adam Thielen is back in the mix this week, which could water down the pass volume, but Thielen will likely ramp up to game action slowly after missing the team’s last seven games. The bottom line is without a touchdown, none of the Panthers’ WRs or TEs is worth much more than a Bye week spot start. Legette is the most likely to get in the end zone, having caught four TDs on 45 targets and 69.8-percent (No. 72) Route Participation.
Miles Sanders is out with a lower leg injury and Jonathon Brooks is slated to make his NFL debut this week. That said, Brooks will merely spell Chuba Hubbard. Hubbard has been getting bell cow work this season – No. 9 with 151.6 Weighted Opportunities. Temper expectations against a stingy Chiefs run D, however, that has not allowed a single running back to gain more 69 total yards in a game this season.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette has had a ...
Carolina Panthers rookie first-round wide receiver Xavier ...
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (leg) was ...
Fourth-year back gets bell cow usage and adds to impressive rushing season
Chuba Hubbard owned the Panthers’ backfield Sunday with Miles Sanders (knee/foot) playing only six snaps and Jonathon Brooks a healthy scratch. Hubbard ran the ball 28 times for 153 yards and a score versus the Giants in Munich. He is now No. 3 in the NFL with 818 rushing yards, trailing only Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley. With Sanders banged up and Brooks ramping up slowly, Hubbard is getting bell cow usage and careening toward league winner status.
With the Panthers leaning into the run game and not much resistance from the Giants on the other side of the ball, Bryce Young threw only 25 passes, his lowest pass attempt total on the season. Young is a last resort QB start. He does not add much on the ground, although he did add 30 yards on the ground Sunday on two rush attempts.
In a low volume passing attack, Jalen Coker was the target leader with eight, catching just three for 41 yards. Xavier Legette caught three of his four targets for 40 yards and Ja’Tavion Sanders had the lone receiving touchdown on one of his two targets. Sanders caught his other target, but went down on the one-yard line. Otherwise, he would have had a two-catch, two-touchdown day.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
Bryce Young gets third straight start coming off win vs. Saints
Dave Canales named Bryce Young starter for the Panthers’ Week 10 tilt versus the Giants in Germany. Young engineered a game-winning touchdown drive against the Saints in Week 9, but completed just 16 passes for 171 yards and one TD. Ja’Tavion Sanders led the team in receiving with four catches for 87 yards. Xavier Legette had the lone touchdown, leading the team with six targets and catching four of them for 33 yards. It’s a low-ceiling passing offense in Carolina, Legette being the lone touchdown threat. The Giants have a bottom-third pass defense, but the Panthers-Giants matchup has a low 40.5 game total, the Panthers a 17-point implied total.
Jonathon Brooks has been activated from IR and looks to take the field in Week 10. He will ramp up slowly, however, spelling Chuba Hubbard along with Miles Sanders. Hubbard has been the bell cow in Carolina, average 14.8 carries and 3.2 targets per game. He is No. 11 with 773 total yards among running backs on the season. The Giants’ defense is also bottom-third against the run. With the muted game environment, Hubbard is a high-end RB3.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
Bryce Young Named Starter As Panthers Put Young Weapons to the Test
The Panthers match up against division rival Saints in Week 9. It will be a battle of basement dwellers in the NFC South. The Panthers have struggled with consistency at QB. Bryce Young will be the Panthers’ starting QB for Week 9 while Andy Dalton continues to recover from a thumb injury.
Young went 24-for-37 passing in Week 8 versus a tough Broncos’ secondary. The second-year QB accounted for the Panthers’ two TDs passing, just the third time in his career throwing for multiple TDs in a game. The recipients of those touchdown passes were Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker. They will be the likely target leaders rest of season as they were in Week 8 (Legette 7, Coker 6). Don’t sleep on David Moore in deeper leagues. Moore quietly ran the most routes on the team and was the recipient of five targets. Temper expectations for the Carolina passing offense, however. Young has only thrown for more than 300 yards once in his career as starter.
Another storyline to watch is in the Panthers’ backfield. Jonathon Brooks is slated to make his debut soon as he comes off the ACL tear he suffered late in his final college season at Texas. The second round rookie is unlikely to be activated for Week 9, however, so Chuba Hubbard will continue to lead the Panthers backfield. Hubbard has been serviceable on decent volume. He is No. 9 with 111.6 Weighted Opportunities and No. 5 with 593 rush yards on the season. He has four rushing TDs, and faces a Saints D that ranks in the bottom quarter of the league stopping the run.
– Joel Ybarra, @metaffb
After a successful collegiate career at LSU, Terrace Marshall Jr.’s career has been forgettable.
The Carolina Panthers are releasing 4th year wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. The move comes after 3 seasons of never quite breaking through. There were some glimmers and flashes of the LSU version of Marshall, however nothing consistent ever came to fruition.
The move is not surprising as the Panthers have a new regime and coaching staff. Given that there aren’t many ties left to who scouted and brought Terrace Marshall in, this cut makes sense. The Panthers have signaled a desire to improve production from their wide receiver room.
Diontae Johnson is the locked-in No.1 wideout in Carolina with hope for rookie Xavier Legette to take on a role similar to how Deebo Samuel is deployed in San Francisco. Diontae Johnson is worth the click in redraft and best ball leagues at ADP, with Xavier Legette a wise option in the double digit rounds. As Jordan Matthews is kindling a comeback story in Carolina, Terrace Marshall will look to make his personal bounceback with another team.
The Carolina Panthers have selected WR Xavier Legette with the No.32 pick in the NFL Draft
The Carolina Panthers traded back into the first round to select Xavier Legette with the final selection on day one of the NFL Draft. Legette will now pair with Diontae Johnson and 2023 second round pick Jonathan Mingo in what should be a much-improved unit in 2024. Weighing 221 pounds and running a 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, he possesses a rare blend of size and speed. The Panthers were in need of a deep threat as well making this a nice fit.
There are concerns about his route running ability, but this is the proper ranger for a big play threat with a lot of potential. Leggette actually profiles very similarly to Jonthan Mingo so both players we’ll likely be competing for the same targets. While Diontae Johnson is cemented as the top target in the offense, the second spot is still up for grabs. The Carolina offense should be much improved as a whole though in 2024 and there is potential for multiple fantasy relevant receiving options.
