Carolina Panthers

Carolina Panthers running back Miles Sanders was the leading rusher for this offense during the Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Being the leading rusher sounds nice, but Sanders only finished with 22 yards on five carries. He served as the second string back to Chuba Hubbard, but neither back got anything going last week. To be fair, it was a blowout and the Panthers needed to abandon the passing game in the second half of the contest. Regardless, neither player has a good outlook heading into the Week 2 matchup against the Las Vegas Chargers. It looks like both backs are going to split the workload, which is bad news for values as a whole. Sanders could be a deep or dynasty stash, but he isn't worth rostering in most fantasy formats.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen caught three of his four targets for 49 yards in the team's Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Although he did lead the team in yards, his target share wasn't encouraging, falling behind WRs Diontae Johnson, Xavier Legette, and Jonathan Mingo in total targets. Now the Panthers gear up for a matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, a team that allowed WRs Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers to go for less than 65 yards each in Week 1. Thielen's low usage and Carolina's ineffective passing attack should make fantasy managers avoid him in Sunday's matchup.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young struggled in Week 1, completing 13 of his 30 passes for just 161 yards. He also added two interceptions, as well as no touchdowns thrown. He was able to make up for some of it by punching in a rushing touchdown near the end of the game. The Panthers gear up to face the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, a unit that did a decent job of keeping QB Gardner Minshew bottled up in last week's performance. The Panthers offense didn't show much to be excited about in Week 1, and it's unlikely there will be a significant change in Week 2. Fantasy managers in 2QB/Superflex leagues can give Young a look, but 1QB fantasy managers can keep him firmly off the radar.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Diontae Johnson was quiet in his Panthers debut, catching two of his six targets for 19 yards in the team's blowout loss. Johnson was a frequently targeted receiver of QB Bryce Young, but was eventually pulled from the game in the second half due to the blowout. The Panthers gear up for a Week 2 clash against the Chargers defense, a unit that kept Davante Adams and other Raider pass-catchers relatively quiet in their Week 1 matchup. That being said, with a favorable game script for Johnson and a healthy dose of potential targets, he is a viable option for fantasy managers this week. Fantasy managers can look to Johnson as a WR3, with the hopes that he is able to convert his opportunities at a higher rate than last week.

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard was a bust in Week 1, running the ball six times for just 14 yards in the team's blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints. He now gears up for a Week 2 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, a team that did a decent job of defending the run in Week 1 when they played the Raiders. The Panthers also enter Sunday's contest as underdogs, indicating there might not be a favorable game script for Hubbard and the Panthers run game. On top of that, Hubbard saw a significant split in touches with RB Miles Sanders, as Sanders ran the ball five times in last week's matchup. While Sunday's matchup will likely not be as big of a one-sided affair as last week, it's hard to start Hubbard with a ton of confidence as we have yet to see the Panthers get it going on the ground. That being said, fantasy managers in deeper leagues can look to him as an RB3 option in the hopes that he finds the endzone in Week 2.