Carolina Panthers: Fantasy Football Projections Week 1

We all know that this is the best time of the year because football is finally here! If football is back that means it is time to play Fantasy Football! What is there not to love about Fantasy Football? You get to pick your players, manage your team, and talk trash with your friends. This “sport” does a great job at building your pride.

C3 Podcast: Panthers Fantasy Football Alert

 Live Tuesday at 10 PM!

The Crew this week is anticipating the coming 2014 season and will delve into fantasy football in relation to the Carolina Panthers.  Fantasy writer Matt Haithcock will join the show at 10:15 and we will be unveiling a little fantasy surprise for Panther fans afterward.

Is There Any Fantasy Value on the Panthers other than Cam?

The ESPN Top 200 and The Other Panther’s Early Fantasy Outlook

In the ESPN Fantasy Projections Pre-rankings, after Cam Newton’s third round appearance, there isn’t a lot of Carolina on the list for a while. Clearly the all knowing, infallible, and never long winded Matthew Berry has very little faith in the Panther’s offense. I’ve never been shy about saying that I’m not a huge fan of the Talented Mr. Roto, but I do respect his faith in Cam Newton over the years. That being said, there are definitely some Carolina fantasy gems that slipped through the cracks into the later rounds. In a Twelve Man, standard scoring, normal setup, sixteen round snake redraft league, that isn’t auction or IDP, the first half of the draft is mostly QBs, RBs, and WRs, and the Cats have exactly one (Least in the NFL).

But if you are feeling nerdy like me and after most people’s mock draft has automatically switched to auto-pick, Greg Olsen comes nexton the list at #86, ranked TE9. This is statistically about where he ended up at the end of last year, as the whole TE list is essentially a copy and paste of last year’s scoring leaders, just substitute Gronk for Gonzo. Personally, I think that saying Olsen is barely draftable as a TE1 is a joke. Cam is going to have to throw more than run on that ankle (especially early on), Olsen is a great receiving tight end, and he is practically the only player on the team Newton has thrown a touchdown to. In football we talk about building a rapport with your receivers, and as of a few weeks ago, Greg was the only passing target Cam Newton had even met, and now he will spend most of the offseason on an exercise bike.  Of all the tight ends in the top ten, Olsen and Jordan Cameron are the only ones whose value has shifted significantly in the offseason, and I feel that the rankings do not reflect that. I have him ranked at TE6, making him round five value, available in the eighth.     

A Look at Cam Newton's Early Fantasy Outlook

The ESPN Top 200 and Cam Newton’s Early Fantasy Outlook

Well Panthers fans, the draft is over, OTA's are underway, the mock draft lobbies are open, and the official ESPN standard scoring pre-draft fantasy projections rankings are out.  Several sites have released their lists, but I chose to look at the ESPN list both because of its immense popularity, unquestionable influence, and unwavering conservatism.  Obviously this early on there are some kinks to work out; Josh Gordon's #19 rank comes to mind, but overall the list is pretty solid.