NFL Fantasy Football Matchup Cheat Sheet: Carolina Panthers
In NFL daily fantasy leagues, matchups are important. Pay attention to favorable matchups rather than the overall quality of individual players. It is better to select an above-average offensive player facing poor or average defense than an elite talent facing above-average or elite defense.
Each position in ranked according to one of these four ratings: Elite, Above-average, Average, and Poor.
Offense
QB Cam Newton: Above-average
RB Jonathon Stewart, DeAngelo Williams: Average
WR1 Kelvin Benjamin: Average
WR2 Jerricho Cotchery: Above-average
Slot WR Jason Avant: Average
TE Greg Olsen: Above-average
O-line: LT Byron Bell, LG Amini Silatolu, C Ryan Kalil, RG Garry Williams, RT Nate Chandler: Average
Benjamin certainly has the physical tools to be an above-average or even an elite player. But his drop rate in college should carry over into at least his rookie year while he works on his technique, so expect only average production out of him in 2014.
Olsen is the real receiving threat here. He’s not much of a big name, so he is usually available for cheap.. Cotchery won’t deliver many 100-yard games, but he is a red-zone threat and could record a lot of touchdowns with Cam Newton throwing to him.
Defense
CB1 Antoine Cason: Average
CB2 Melvin White: Average
Nickel CB Charles Godfrey: Poor
Safeties: SS Roman Harper, FS Thomas DeCoud: Poor
Linebackers: WLB A.J. Klein, MLB Luke Kuechly, SLB Thomas Davis: Above-average
D-line: DE Greg Hardy, DT Kawann Short, DT Star Lotulelei, DE Charles Johnson: Elite
All receivers are safe to play against this secondary. Running backs, however, should always be avoided when facing Carolina. Every starter on Carolina’s front 7 except Klein have proven themselves as exceptional players; they will stop the run and put pressure on the quarterback. This is why you should avoid playing RBs and QBs playing behind poor or average o-lines against Carolina.
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