The Carolina Panthers will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 13. 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 13 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Bryce Young, QB
Bryce Young has looked better of late, and I think part of it is Carolina giving him the potential to do so. Against the Chiefs last week, the Panthers opened with three passes on their first four plays, a run of plays that saw their second-year QB complete passes to three different players.
It’s true that Young has finished inside the top 15 in two of his past three starts and that the Buccaneers defense has been vulnerable. However, starting him in a week with 31 other teams in action is borderline crazy.
It’s perfectly okay to say you’re encouraged by Young’s recent play while still not wanting to invest a penny in him this week — that’s where I stand.
Chuba Hubbard, RB
Until the usage changes, there’s no reason to hesitate in playing Chuba Hubbard — he’s cleared 18.5 expected fantasy points in three straight games, his second such streak of the season. Jonathon Brooks made his season debut against the Chiefs on Sunday, but that wasn’t enough to stop the recently extended Hubbard from getting another 21 opportunities (rush attempts + targets).
The Bucs have allowed a touchdown on 25.9% of opponent drives this season, the sixth-highest rate in the league and one that the upward-trending Panthers could take advantage of. Hubbard has found the end zone eight times this season for the 29th-ranked scoring offense, serving as a good reminder that, while the offensive environment is critical, it’s not to be used as gospel.
The only rule of fantasy sports is that there is an exception to every rule. I encourage you to evaluate every situation as its own thing as opposed to casting a wide net (i.e. avoid all players on poorly projected offenses).
Jonathon Brooks, RB
Jonathon Brooks played 8.6% of the snaps last week in his professional debut (Chuba Hubbard: 87.9%), picking up seven yards on his two carries against the Chiefs. I expect the team to slowly ramp up his usage to give him a taste of the NFL game, but I’d be surprised if he got much past 10 touches in any game this season. That means he’s unlikely to grace my top 30 at any point.
If he’s going to impact fantasy leagues this season, it’s because he cashes in a red-zone carry, and the manager with Chuba Hubbard falls out of the playoffs as a result of the missed opportunity. Brooks is an interesting name to keep track of for next season — I’m holding for this week to see what the team does with his usage and cutting ties if we don’t see some serious growth.
Adam Thielen, WR
Adam Thielen missed over two months and returned last week — he was targeted on Carolina’s first play. He largely disappeared after that, but when the chips were in the middle of the table, he had a late fourth-down catch and drew a DPI in the end zone.
I think that’s what we can expect moving forward from the veteran receiver. We are looking at production that comes and goes, nothing that fantasy managers can count on. Jalen Coker projects to eat into an already limited role should he return to action, further pushing Thielen down my receiver rankings.
The Bucs allow the third-highest completion percentage to the slot this season, giving Coker or Thielen a path to low-end PPR value if you squint, but I’m largely targeting upside rather than hoping for a few valuable looks as a part of this bottom-five offense.
Jalen Coker, WR
Jalen Coker was a late addition to the injury report last week and ended up sitting out with a quad injury. He left the lineup the same week that Adam Thielen (hamstring) returned, thus muddying the situation for this rookie to produce if/when he is deemed healthy.
I think we’ve seen enough from the Holy Cross product to pencil him in as a part of the rebuild in Carolina, but there’s no need to hold onto him in redraft formats for the stretch run.
Xavier Legette, WR
Did you know that Xavier Legette and David Moore have the same on-field target share this season?
My guess is no, and yet, one has been kicking around fantasy rosters while the other, before last week, you may not have known what team he was on. The rookie has some splash-play ability (a 34-yard catch on the first drive last week and four straight games with a reception of 23+ yards), but he’s not earning opportunities at nearly a high enough level to overcome the below-average QB play that Carolina runs out there.
I maintain my thought that this Panthers offense will be one that I’m looking at in the later stages of drafts this summer, but that’s a long-term thought that we will discuss at a later date. For right now, Legette doesn’t deserve lineup consideration (his next 70-yard game will be his first).
Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE
Ja’Tavion Sanders suffered a scary-looking head/neck injury in the first half of last week’s loss to the Chiefs, which landed him in the hospital following the game. Hopefully, everything checks out health-wise, as there have been flashes of difference-making talent in this profile. However, there’s no reason for the Panthers to be aggressive with him, and that has me looking in other directions at the position.
If Sanders can return to a full workload, we can circle back, but there’s no reason to take on this level of risk. The future is bright for him and maybe this offense as a whole — don’t forget about his name this summer.
