Fantasy Impact of the Kelvin Benjamin Injury

(Photo Courtesy Of jetsfansunited.com)

Coming into the preseason not many were calling the Carolina Panthers an offensive juggernaut. When Kelvin Benjamin went down for the season, with a Torn ACL, the landscape of this team change dramatically, for real football and fake football alike. In this article we will discuss members of the Panthers offense and how the impact of losing KB will affect them.
Cam Newton-QB-

To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of Cam this season to begin with. While he can certainly score some pts for you, with his legs, that’s about all he brings to the table. He is one of the worst throwing QBs in the league. He also has made some of the worst decisions I have ever seen in the redzone.

Take away his best receiving option and there isn’t a lot to like here. He still has Greg Olsen and Devin Funchess, another big young emerging rookie in the style of KB, that is well short of the number of viable targets Cam will need to succeed. Relying on another rookie to contribute WR 1 numbers is a recipe for disaster, the rest of the pass catching crew is made up of has beens and never will be’s. Nothing to see here, please move along. Cam Falls to 15th amongst QBs I’m now taking Teddy Bridgewater over him.

Jonathan Stewart -RB

This can work out one of 2 ways, more points for J Stew, or, he will get hurt faster. I would think the Panthers are going to run more with KB out of the lineup. I feel they may also be inclined to dump off to the RB more often.
So his opportunity for a career year just got much bigger.

I personally plan to draft Cameron Artis-Payne and wait for the inevitable J Stew injury. But, if you wanna draft J Stew, you have to draft him as a RB2. Do yourself a favor and protect yourself from his durability. Draft Cameron Artis-Payne as his handcuff and save yourself a headache later. I have Stewart ranked 20th Amongst RBs

Cameron Artis-Payne -RB

Even before the KB injury, I have been preaching the value of drafting Payne to back up a brittle J Stew and I’m still saying that. The injury should force the Panthers to run more. I think we may be able to get some low-end flex production from Payne while we wait for the inevitable Jonathan Stewart Injury.
Cameron Artis-Payne currently sits 70th amongst RBs. but, he is trending upward and his rise isn’t going to stop anytime soon.

Greg Olsen -TE

Greg Olsen is going to be the go to target for the Panthers. He is a solid pass catching threat so he should be able to take advantage of his new-found situation.
He combines knowledge, physical ability and consistency, a recipe for success. I have him ranked 3rd amongst TEs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pushing Jimmy Graham for the #2 spot, once the preseason comes to an end.

Devin Funchess -WR

Devin Funchess is a raw version of Kelvin Benjamin. He is big, just like Kelvin and he may have an even bigger catch radius than Benjamin. It’s my opinion that he is going to step in and be the #1 WR for this offense. I don’t expect him to have the kind of year that KB had last year though. He will have more competitors to fight off than KB did and I would expect a bigger target spread.

He will get competition from Corey Brown, but, he is a more well-rounded WR and that’s what you want from your WR1, in the NFL. His ranking is sure to change by the time the regular season kicks off, but, for now, I have him ranked 35th amongst WRs.

Corey Brown -WR
They will defiantly use Corey Brown as another way to fill the void left by Benjamin. I see Corry Brown as a deep threat. They can utilize his skill without him being the number 1 WR, I do see a bump in his fantasy production as compared to his big play only contributions from last year. I’m going to have to evaluate his preseason before I can assess and rank him.

Ted Ginn Jr-WR
The news junkies are going to write about Ted Ginn and how he is the guy Cam will look to and he did have a career high in TDs last time he was with Cam Newton. What they will fail to tell you is Ginn’s use to any team is capped by his route limitations and that he has never caught more than 60 balls in his Career, only once has he caught 50+. He has never had over 800 Rec Yards and only once has he had more than 700. He has never caught more than 5 touchdown and only once has he caught more than 2. Come draft day I would forget the name Ted Ginn.Jr. He is exactly who we thought he was and will be a minor player in the Panther offense and but for a couple of big weeks a fantasy bust.

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