Carolina Panthers DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen caught three of his four targets for 49 yards in the team's loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Thielen led all Panthers pass-catchers in yards, remaining as a trusted target for quarterback Bryce Young. Carolina's offensive limitations hinder heavily on Thielen's upside, but he could be a name to keep an eye on if he remains the No. 1 option for Young. Fantasy managers can look to Thielen as a WR4/5 option when the Panthers take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2.

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard carried the ball six times for just 14 yards in the team's blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints. Hubbard was not involved in the receiving game, seeing zero targets. Hubbard saw just one more carry than running back Miles Sanders, but neither were able to provide much of a spark on the ground. Both running backs were gamescripted out of the matchup early on, with the Panthers finding themselves down by 27 at halftime. Hubbard's usage was encouraging enough to keep him in the mix moving forward, and he can be looked at as an RB3/4 option next week when the Panthers take on the Los Angeles Chargers.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young completed thirteen of his 30 passes for 161 yards with two interceptions in the team's 47-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Young also carried the ball four times for an additional 12 yards and a touchdown on the ground, helping to salvage his fantasy production. Carolina had no success moving the ball in Sunday's matchup, seeing just barely over 200 yards of total offense. While there was some optimism the Panthers would improve from last year's offense, that was not shown to be the case on Sunday. Young can be left out of lineups in mostly all formats next week when the Panthers take on the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2.

Dallas Cowboys running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle are expected to operate on a "pretty even split" of touches out of the backfield on Sunday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. It sounds like both players will have significant roles as the Cowboys open their season against the Cleveland Browns. Elliott is a veteran with more starting experience and he's coming off a solid campaign with the New England Patriots in which he tallied 955 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns. Meanwhile, Dowdle offers youth and is ready to take on an expanded role after totaling 505 yards and four touchdowns in 2023. Unfortunately, if each player is only expected to see around 10-15 touches, it could be difficult for them to have a lot of fantasy value, especially against a solid Browns defensive front. Both should be viewed as RB3/flex options this week.

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard will likely take on the majority of the work for their season debut against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. With rookie Jonathan Brooks (knee) still not available, Hubbard will take on the starting role, splitting reps with Miles Sanders. Hubbard finds himself with a decent matchup against New Orleans defense, a unit that allowed the thirteenth-fewest fantasy points to opposing RBs last season, as well as the eleventh-most rushing yards. Considering Hubbard will take on most of the work for Carolina, he does provide a safe enough floor to be targeted as a potential RB2 for fantasy managers.