NFC South fantasy roundup: Where do Buccaneers rank?

Carolina Panthers

Coming in at number 87 overall and as the QB9 is Cam Newton. The former MVP and Heisman Trophy winner is coming off of a relatively down year which saw a poor overall record, injuries and ultimately not a great statistical output.

Although it wasn’t the best statistical season for Newton we did see a career high completion percentage of 67.9 percent which was far and away his best year for that category. Newton played last season with a shoulder issue and that contributed to increased dump offs to running back Christian McCaffrey as well as less deep throws and designed runs.

Look for a healthier Cam in 2019 and a QB1 finish on the season. Newton has league winning potential as we saw in 2015 when he was league MVP, totaling 3,837 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 picks.

Newton also contributed an additional 600 plus rushing yards and ten additional scores in 2015. Newton is an elite dual threat QB and should be targeted in round eight or nine.

The biggest fantasy stud in Carolina is not the former league MVP, but it’s the third year tailback, Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey checks in at number two overall on Berry’s list and was an absolute fantasy stud last season, especially in PPR formats.

CMC totaled 1,965 combined yards on 100 plus catches and racked up 13 scores. CMC is a locked and lodged top four fantasy pick alongside guys like Alvin Kamara, Zeke Elliott and Saquon Barkley. Expect some slight regression for CMC because of the emergence of the young receivers and the return of veteran tight end Greg Olsen as well but he is still a RB1 and an elite one at that.

Next on the list at number 53 overall is the second year wideout, DJ Moore. Moore is coming off of a fairly quiet rookie season in which we saw him total 55 catches for 788 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also adding another 172 rushing yards.

His rookie season was not the biggest in terms of statistical output, but just under 1,000 yards is pretty good for a rookie receiver. I would love to see more touchdowns out of Moore, and hopefully a healthier Cam Newton will help that out. One positive about Moore is as the season progressed, so did he.

Moore saw seven or more targets in six of his last seven games. I like Moore as a WR4 with WR3/Flex upside as of now. On average he is being selected in the round six or seven range and that’s a little too high for me personally.

Last but not least, coming in at number 96 in the top 100 for the Carolina Panthers is another young wide receiver by the name of Curtis Samuel. Samuel is heading into year three in Carolina and is expected to have a bit of a breakout year according to some fantasy analysts.

Samuel is a bit of a gadget player and a jack of all trades. Contributing in the passing, rushing and return game, Samuel has multiple skill sets and that is what makes him such a valuable fantasy asset. The targets have not been very high for Samuel since entering the league but that should change in 2019.

Samuel finished last season with 39 receptions, 494 yards, 5 touchdowns and an additional 84 rushing yards with two rushing scores. Samuel is going towards the beginning of round nine in most leagues and should be looked at as a WR4/Flex guy for now.