We have passed the halfway point of the season, and now is the time to shore up weaknesses and look toward fantasy football playoff matchups. Does Carolina Panthers WR Jonathan Mingo fit the bill for your roster?
Should Jonathan Mingo Be a Fantasy Waiver Wire Add in Week 9?
I was excited to scoop up Mingo in the third round of all my dynasty drafts and toward the end of my redraft leagues as well, assuming there would be a large target share up for grabs.
Unfortunately, that production has been awarded to the 33-year-old Adam Thielen. The LSU standout rookie, meanwhile, has been relegated to second fiddle and is averaging only 3.7 catches and 43.7 yards in his last three contests with a paltry 15% target share.
I will never say you shouldn’t pick up a talented rookie wide receiver because you never know what can happen in the NFL, but Mingo is nothing more than a stash at this point. He just hasn’t shown the production to warrant a spot in your fantasy lineup.
The Panthers have been surprisingly competitive this season, so there haven’t even been as many negative game scripts to exploit for Mingo.
We have Mingo as the 67th-ranked wide receiver this week in the PFN Consensus Rankings, and I see that being a consistent ranking for the rest of the season. Unfortunately for Mingo, there aren’t many leagues that start a WR7.
MORE: Early Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Picks for Week 9
So let’s look towards the fantasy playoffs to see if we can mine any value from Carolina’s No. 2 receiver in an offense led by an underwhelming Bryce Young. In the fantasy playoffs, the Panthers face the Falcons, Packers, and Jaguars. Only the Jags (Week 17) are in the bottom half of the league against fantasy wide receivers and just barely (19).
If you have a dead spot on your roster and want to shoot your shot, I see no reason not to add Mingo. However, if you have a need in your starting lineup now or when byes devastate our lineups again, then there are better options to pick up.
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