Carolina Panthers DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette (shoulder) exited the Week 5 game against the Chicago Bears with a shoulder injury, but he is practicing on Wednesday to begin Week 6 preparation. The rookie first-round pick out of South Carolina had the best performance of his career in Week 4, catching six of his 10 targets for 66 yards and a touchdown. Carolina's offense looked strong under quarterback Andy Dalton against the Raiders and Bengals before being held to just 10 points in the blowout loss to Chicago. If Legette can suit up on Sunday, he'll face an Atlanta Falcons defense that has surrendered the 12th-most fantasy points per game to wideouts. With Adam Thielen (hamstring) on the Injured Reserve list, Legette is a fine flex option, but he has a WR4/WR5 outlook.UPDATE: Legette practiced in full on Wednesday.

The San Francisco 49ers signed veteran kicker Matthew Wright on Tuesday to replace the injured Jake Moody (ankle), who is expected to miss multiple weeks after suffering a high-ankle sprain in the Week 5 loss to the division-rival Arizona Cardinals, according to a source. Wright will make his debut with the 49ers this Thursday night against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Before signing him, the 49ers also worked out kickers Randy Bullock, Riley Patterson, Anders Carlson and Matt Coghlin. For now, fantasy managers that were riding Moody will have to go in another direction. The 28-year-old Wright is unlikely to be as reliable as Moody, but he could at least be a viable streaming option in this strong Niners offense. Wright has a career 85.1% success rate on his 47 field-goal attempts in his four seasons in the NFL with the Steelers, Jaguars, Chiefs and Panthers.

Carolina Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble (concussion) is officially in the league's concussion protocol on Monday after suffering a head injury in the team's Week 5 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Tremble was knocked out cold by Bears safety Jaquan Brisker after a catch on Sunday, and just by the way it looked, we would not be surprised if Tremble was unavailable to play in Week 6 against the division-rival Atlanta Falcons this weekend. He has only seven catches on nine targets for 59 yards and no touchdowns in four games this year and isn't a realistic fantasy tight end in most leagues when he's healthy. If Tremble is forced to miss any time, rookie Ja'Tavion Sanders would see an elevated role in the passing game in Carolina, although he, too, wouldn't really move the fantasy needle as anything more than a deep TE2 sleeper.

Per Joe Person of the Athletic, Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Xavier Legette (shoulder) said he is expected to undergo imaging on Monday for his AC-joint injury. The rookie wideout exited Sunday's 36-10 loss to the Chicago Bears late in the first half, ending his day with one catch on one target for eight yards. Earlier reports from Legette confirmed he expects to play in Week 6 when the team lines up to face the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday. However, Carolina is at least moderately concerned about the 23-year-old's shoulder. In his absence, wide receiver Jalen Coker saw an uptick in snaps, leading the team in receptions (four) and yards (68). Coker would likely play in three-wide receiver sets again, along with Diontae Johnson and Jonathan Mingo, if Legette were to miss more time. For now, Legette is considered day-to-day.

Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle carried the load on the ground on Sunday night in the last-minute 20-17 win over Pittsburgh. Dowdle rushed 20 times for 87 yards while also securing both targets for 27 yards and a touchdown. The 26-year-old has emerged as the lead running back in Dallas over the past two weeks and is now safely in the RB2 discussion solely based on workload. Dowdle should be rostered in all leagues going forward and is an RB2/Flex play weekly depending on the matchup. Next week could be a setback against a stout Detroit run defense, but Dowdle appears to have taken the backfield over from Ezekiel Elliott.