The Carolina Panthers will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 17. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Panthers skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 17 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Bryce Young, QB
Updated at 11:30 AM ET on Sunday, December 29
Young is active for today's game
Bryce Young is a work in progress. Next season will be a big one for his development, but there is no denying that there have been breadcrumbs laid.
In Weeks 12-16, he has not one, not two, but three top-12 finishes. That’s a fun fact by itself, and it only gains when you consider that Patrick Mahomes, C.J. Stroud, and Kyler Murray have three such finishes over that stretch combined.
He was unimpressive from a rate standpoint in the first meeting this season with the Bucs (6.5 yards per pass and a 2.2% touchdown rate), but he was able to volume his way to a fine stat line thanks to overtime (298 passing yards and a touchdown).
Young comes with a wide weekly range of outcomes and limited consistency. Next season might be interesting, but for now, only two-QB/Superflex leagues are concerned about him in a meaningful way.
Chuba Hubbard, RB
Updated at 11:30 AM ET on Sunday, December 29
Hubbard is on IR and is done for the season with a calf strain
Chuba Hubbard shined again last week, clearing 160 scrimmage yards for the third time this season. He has more top-10 finishes at the position this season than Derrick Henry, an outcome I certainly did not see coming.
He’s Carolina’s best chance at success and that’s why you’re playing him. The volume appears to be about as safe as any RB in the league, so I’m willing to overlook a Week 13 dud in this exact matchup. In that game, his 12 carries netted 43 yards and he was unable to rip off a 10+ yard gain.
That’s very much been the exception, not the norm in 2024. You’re playing Hubbard, even if you’d rather not watch the Panthers as a whole.
Adam Thielen, WR
Updated at 11:30 AM ET on Sunday, December 29
Thielen is active for today's game.
Adam Thielen has caught 5+ passes in all four games this month and has scored in three of his past six, but he has just two games this season with 60+ receiving yards. The rate numbers look good across the board, and this matchup is inviting. However, can you really trust a Bryce Young weapon with your championship on the line?
Thielen posted an 8-99-1 line in the Week 13 meeting and none of it was fluky. Young was looking his way and hit him on a 25-yard pass to send the game into overtime. The game itself was encouraging, and it tracks with season-long trends. The Bucs allow the second-most yards per slot pass attempt in the league this season.
The downside of this offense as a whole stops me from elevating Thielen into my top 30 at the position, but he’s safely tucked inside the top 40 and can be flexed with more confidence in leagues that weigh receptions/yards heavier than touchdowns.
Jalen Coker, WR
Since returning to action, Jalen Coker has played over 83% of the snaps in both of his games, and his counting numbers look fine in those games. However, don’t forget about the 83-yard touchdown against Dallas in Week 15.
Without that outlier play, one that you can’t count on in any offense, let alone this version of the Panthers, Coker has turned 10 targets into 35 yards. There might be a world in which he becomes Carolina’s slot receiver of the future and Bryce Young’s star ascends.
Might be.
You don’t have to bet on that to end this season. It won’t cost you much to speculate on him this summer, and there will be roster builds where I go in that direction, but that’s a strategic thing that we can dive further into once this season is in the books.
Xavier Legette, WR
Updated at 11:30 AM ET on Sunday, December 29
Legette is active for today's game
Xavier Legette is going to be more than a fun accent and interesting eating habits, but not yet.
Throughout his last seven games played with fellow rook Jalen Coker active, he’s turned 156 routes into just 148 receiving yards. There were some interesting scoring metrics on him earlier this season, but those have evaporated lately. Over his last five games, he’s been targeted on just 10.3% of his red-zone routes.
Citing “Carolina red-zone trips” is an issue unto itself given the small nature of it, and if Legette’s share is underwhelming, there’s no real reason to hold onto him, even if his status were to swing in a positive direction (groin), something that Dave Canales seemed awfully non-committal on at Monday’s practice.
You can move on in redraft spots, but I’d keep his name in the back of your mind for 2025.
Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE
The potential is there for Ja’Tavion Sanders to develop alongside Bryce Young, and that’s going to have my attention in the 2025 redraft prep. I think there’s a lot to like in the rookie season, but not with your season on the line after consecutive goose eggs.
This season, just one of his 271 routes has earned an end-zone target. With seven instances in which a single-digit on-field target share was posted (zero targets on 21 routes in Week 16), the floor is too low to garner serious interest as a streaming candidate.