Carolina Panthers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard dominated backfield work in Week 13 vs. the Buccaneers, tallying 25 carries for 104 yards and 2 TDs. Miles Sanders registered just 8 carries for 23 yards on 31.9% of Carolina’s offensive snaps. Sanders had seen at least 50% of the RB carries the previous two weeks, but that shifted dramatically in the first game after Carolina fired HC Frank Reich and RBs coach Duce Staley, among others. Reich and Staley were outspoken supporters of Sanders after the Panthers signed him in free agency, but Hubbard has outperformed the import all season. Carolina's remaining schedule ranks sixth-toughest for RBs per our adjusted fantasy points allowed, which hurts. But Hubbard will be worth RB2 consideration if he continues to control the backfield the way he did against the Bucs. Sanders can be dropped in most fantasy leagues, if you see something more interesting on the waiver wire.

Panthers CB Jaycee Horn (hamstring is active for today's game against the Buccaneers. We're betting he'll be in the lineup, but it's tough to know how much playing time he'll be ready for. Horn hasn't played since Week 1. He's a risky option for IDP lineups.

Panthers WR Jonathan Mingo (Achilles) is not listed on the final Week 13 injury report. He was limited in Thursday’s practice but a full-go on Friday. He’ll play vs. the Bucs this weekend but would be a desperation fantasy start. The rookie has yet to top 10.2 PPR points in a game this season.

Panthers WR Jonathan Mingo was added to Thursday's injury report with an Achilles and limited in practice. Mid-week additions are always worrisome. Achilles injuries are always worrisome. We'll look for further updates on Mingo's situation.

The Panthers fired HC Frank Reich. He didn't even make it a full season in Carolina, going 1-10 in his 11 games. An offensive-minded coach, Reich's Panthers offense sits 30th in yards per game, 29th in points per game, and 31st in offensive DVOA. A poor group of skill-position players didn't help the cause, but Reich did very little to elevate the offense or rookie QB Bryce Young. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will finish out the season as interim HC, while OC Thomas Brown takes back over as play-caller. We'll see if the moves lead to any changes in player usage, but don't expect the offense to be noticeably better.

Panthers WR Adam Thielen caught only 1 of 3 targets for 2 yards in Sunday's loss to the Titans. Tennessee refused to let Thielen beat them, which easily resulted in his worst game as a Panther. Bryce Young fired off 31 passes, so Thielen's target share of 9.6% fell well shy of his average (27.9%). Week 13 turns up a bounce-back spot at Tampa Bay. But that’s the last favorable spot on his schedule until Week 17 at Jacksonville.

The Panthers' backfield returned to a proper committee in Week 11 vs. the Cowboys. RB Miles Sanders handled a team-leading 11 carries for 50 rushing yards on a 45.7% snap share, all highs since Week 4 vs. the Vikings. His teammate Chuba Hubbard stayed active in the contest, tallying 65 total yards on 12 touches, but saw his lowest share of the RB carries (52.3%) over his last four games. Perhaps this is the beginning of Sanders returning to good health after being marred by groin and shoulder injuries to open 2023. Hubbard's rise in the first place can be primarily attributed to simply being the healthier of the two for a while, so it'll be worth monitoring this usage next week vs. the Titans. For now, fantasy managers should see if Sanders was dropped to the waiver wire. He might be worth scooping.

Panthers WR Adam Thielen hauled in 8 of 11 targets for 87 receiving yards in Week 11’s loss vs. the Cowboys. The veteran embodied one of the few aspects of Carolina’s offense that worked in the 33-10 blowout and accounted for 33.1% of the Panthers’ total offensive yards in the contest. This performance just goes to show fantasy managers that Thielen should remain in lineups even though his real-life team is struggling. With his pair of “dud” games in Week 9-10 behind him, it’s important to remember that Thielen has recorded at least 7 catches and 50 receiving yards in seven of 10 games played in 2023. Don’t be afraid to fire him up again in Week 12 vs. the Titans.

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (thumb) is not listed on the final Week 11 injury report. He took Wednesday off but was a full-go in Thursday and Friday’s practices. Johnson will be ready for his usual role vs. the Browns this weekend.

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson (thumb) returned to a full practice on Thursday. It looks like Wednesday was pretty much a rest day. Johnson should be ready for his usual role vs. the Browns this weekend.

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson missed Wednesday's practice and is on the injury report with a thumb. We don't have any other details right now. Johnson played a full allotment of snaps in Week 10, so we're tentatively expecting him to be available for Sunday's game vs. the Browns. But we'll get another update on his status tomorrow.

Panthers WR Adam Thielen caught 6 of 10 targets for 42 receiving yards in Week 10 vs. the Bears. The veteran’s performance on Thursday was a touch disappointing, though he posted 100% route participation and held 100% snap share in the contest. His efforts certainly weren’t for a lack of opportunity. But fantasy managers should be wary of Thielen’s opponent next week as well. The Panthers will be taking on a Cowboys defense that ranks as the fifth-toughest WR matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed and sixth in pass defense DVOA this season.

Week 10’s showdown vs. the Bears showed fantasy managers that Panthers RB Miles Sanders is probably safe to drop onto the waiver wire in shallow leagues. The veteran accumulated 10 total yards on 4 touches. Sanders played on just 38.3% of the Panthers’ offense snaps, actually lost yardage as a runner (2 carries, -5 yards), and generally just hasn’t been helpful since Week 3. Fellow RB Chuba Hubbard didn’t perform much better in the contest (11 touches, 39 total yards), though he continues to win the touch battle in this backfield. Hubbard will be the preferred runner in Carolina again in Week 11. However, he’ll have a tough time posting more than flex-level numbers against a Cowboys’ defense that ranks as the seventh-toughest RB matchup per our adjusted fantasy points allowed.

Panthers QB Bryce Young completed 21 of 38 passes for 185 yards with no TDs or INTs in Week 10’s loss vs. the Bears. In some respects, the rookie was better on Thursday night than he did in Week 9. At least he didn’t throw 3 INTs, including 2 pick-sixes. Still, Young has failed to throw for over 250 passing yards in a game this season and should be nowhere near fantasy lineups in Week 11 vs. the Cowboys’ defense that ranks fourth in total defense DVOA.

The Panthers are adding LB Blake Martinez to their practice squad. You should expect this move to go like Julio Jones' addition in Philadelphia and Darrell Henderson's with the Rams, in that the veteran should move quickly to the active roster. Martinez retired from the Raiders last year. We'll guess he didn't end that retirement to play practice dummy for a 1-7 Carolina squad. The Panthers, of course, sport a significant need at LB. Despite multiple minor injuries, LB Frankie Luvu has led all Carolina defenders at 89.4% snap share for the season. The nearest non-edge LB to him is Kamu Grugier-Hill (45.2%). He got starter-level time the two games after LB Shaq Thompson went down before Panthers coaches realized/remembered he's not very good. Don't be surprised if Martinez steps into the No. 2 LB role over the next few weeks. How much playing time that could mean remains to be seen. Martinez isn't worth a waiver pickup in most IDP formats.

Panthers QB Bryce Young had his best game of the season by many metrics in Week 8. He undoubtedly had his worst game of the season in Week 9. The rookie completed 24 of 39 passes (62%) for just 173 yards (4.4 YPA), one TD, and three INTs in a 27-13 loss to the Colts. Two of Young's INTs were returned for TDs by CB Kenny Moore. Young seemed to struggle to decipher Indianapolis' coverages all game. And the Panthers had nothing working downfield. Outside of TE Hayden Hurst's 48-yarder on a busted coverage, the team's longest completion went for just 11 yards. Up-and-down play is not a surprise for a rookie QB. But it'll make Young pretty much impossible to trust as a QB1 going forward.

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson scored what proved to be the game-winning three-yard TD with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's game vs. the Titans. It was Johnson's first trip to the end zone since Week 17 of the 2021 season. Ben Roethlisberger was still Pittsburgh's QB at that point. Johnson went an absurd 199 targets and 119 receptions without a TD. It's nice to have that monkey off his back. But the bigger fantasy takeaway is that Johnson dominated Steelers receiving production in this one. He posted a 7-90-1 line on nine targets, accounting for 30% of the team's targets, 37% of the receptions, and 56% of the receiving yards. After being out-targeted by WR George Pickens in his Week 7 return, Johnson has now out-targeted Pickens 23 to 10 over the last two games. QB play remains a concern, but Johnson will be a comfortable weekly fantasy starter on this type of volume. He gets a neutral Week 10 matchup vs. the Packers before a challenging Week 11 draw against the Browns.

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson led the team in targets (14), receptions (8), and receiving yards (85) in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. He drew eight more looks than any other teammate and nine more than WR George Pickens. Most of that edge came before QB Kenny Pickett left the game. Johnson led the team with 5 targets from QB Mitchell Trubisky, but Pickens, TE Connor Heyward, RB Najee Harris, and RB Jaylen Warren each saw 4 Trubisky targets. That mean's Johnson's nine looks from Pickett constituted 56.3% of the QB's total attempts. We'll see about Pickett's injury (ribs) status for Week 9 and whether this was the start of Johnson reclaiming his favorite-target role. Or whether it's a one-game blip and he remains close with Pickens. Whoever lines up behind center for the Steelers in Week 9 will get a Tennessee defense that has played the run tough but also been a negative scoring matchup for QBs. The Titans have been positive for WR scoring, however.

Panthers WR Adam Thielen ended Week 8’s contest vs. the Texans with 8 catches on 11 targets for a team-leading 72 receiving yards. The veteran has now exceeded the 70-yard mark for a fifth-straight game. His teammate Jonathan Mingo also had a fine outing, tallying 62 yards on 4 catches on Sunday. Thielen belongs entrenched in fantasy lineups as long as continues to dominate.

Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard out-touched teammate Miles Sanders 17 to 2 in Week 8 vs. the Texans. The veteran Sanders received 2 carries in the contest, only to be shut out completely in the fantasy box score. Hubbard, on the other hand, tallied 54 total yards on Sunday. This outcome is a bit of a surprise. While Sanders has dealt with injuries to his groin and shoulder early in 2023, it was reasonable to anticipate he’d be more involved coming off of the Panthers’ bye week presumably healthy. For now, it’s safe to operate with the understanding Hubbard will lead the way in Week 9 vs. the Colts.