The Carolina Panthers were coming off one of the most historic NFL seasons in 2015. They had one of the league’s best offenses and also one of the most dominant defenses. They finished the regular season with only one regular season loss, before coming up just short of their goals and losing to the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. 2016, however, was a much different story. The Panthers struggled on both sides of the ball and finished the season 6-10, and third place in their division. Below is a look back at the Carolina Panthers’ 2016 fantasy football season.
Carolina Panthers 2016 Fantasy Football Recap
Quarterback
Cam Newton was coming off a great 2015 season, where he was the NFL MVP and was one of the most dominating players in the league and fantasy football. Newton scored a total of 389 fantasy points and averaged 24 fantasy points per game in the process. Unfortunately, 2016 yielded much different results, as Newton struggled throughout the season and only scored 254 fantasy points.
With an average of 17 fantasy points per game, Newton was a boom or bust player most weeks. With the struggles that Newton had last season, he will most likely fall in 2017 drafts. With his talent, he has the potential to finish in the top ten every season, and should be targeted in the middle rounds on 2017 drafts.
Running Back
Jonathan Stewart has been a solid RB2 over the last few seasons. In 2016, he totaled 884 total yards and nine touchdowns, with 138 fantasy points on the season, and an average of ten points per game. Stewart has had some trouble with injuries throughout his career, however, and missed three games last season due to various nicks.
Besides his injury problem, he is limed by Newton running the ball and stealing goal line carries. If the Panthers do not add another back in the upcoming draft, Stewart should continue to be a solid fantasy running back next season, and can be targeted in the middle rounds of next season’s fantasy drafts.
Wide Receiver
The Panthers and fantasy players were more than happy to have wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin back in 2016, after he missed all of the 2015 season with an ACL tear. Overall, Benjamin had a solid season with 941 yards and seven touchdowns, for 134 fantasy points on the season and a nine point average per contest. The problem with him was that he was very inconsistent in his production. Benjamin had four games with five or fewer points, and five with ten or more fantasy points. Simply put, he was one of the biggest risk-reward players this season. With his inconsistent production, he will most likely fall in next years drafts and could end up as a late-round bargain.
The Panthers next leading receiver was veteran Ted Ginn Jr., who finished the season with 850 total yards and four touchdowns, for a total of 105 fantasy points and an average of six points per game. Ginn was rather unproductive until the end of the season, but in Weeks 11 through 17 he averaged ten points per game. Still, Ginn is not much more than a late-round flier in next year’s drafts.
The third wide receiver for the Panthers is Devin Funchess, who has struggled though his first two seasons. In 2016, Funchess totaled 371 yards and four touchdowns for 63 fantasy points. Fuchchess is worth a late-round flier in next year’s drafts, however, based on raw physical ability and upside alone.
Tight End
The most consistent player on the Panthers is veteran tight end Greg Olsen, who has had three straight seasons of 1,000 or more receiving yards. In 2016, Olsen totaled 1073 yards but only scored three touchdowns, for a total of 127 total fantasy points and an average of eight fantasy points per game. Olsen is one of the most consistently productive tight ends in fantasy and can be targeted around the fifth round in 2017 drafts.
Kicker
Panthers kicker Graham Gano had been one of the better kickers in NFL and fantasy football over the last few seasons. In 2016, however, he had a down year as he missed eight field goals and three extra points. Gano’s stat line of 30 for 38 on field goal attempts, and 31 for 34 on extra point attempts, for a total of 127 fantasy points, is a step back from his highly productive 2015. Overall, he is a solid fantasy kicker and can be drafted in the later rounds of next years drafts.
Defense
One of the biggest disappointments in 2016 for the Panthers was the defense. In the off-season, they lost their shut down cornerback Josh Norman to the Washington Redskins. In 2015, the Panthers fielded one of the best defenses in the NFL and fantasy football. They scored 167 points in 2015, but only 122 in 2016. They were also without their star linebacker Luke Kuechly for several weeks due to various injuries. Still, going forward the Panthers should have one of the better defenses in fantasy football, and this unit is worth a late-round draft pick in next year’s drafts.
The most important factor to the Carolina Panthers’ future success is getting Cam Newton back to his MVP form. If Newton can recapture the mojo that him and the team had in 2015, the Panthers will re-claim their spot as one of the best teams in the NFL. If the Panthers can get back on track, their players will continue to produce fantasy points for fantasy owners.
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