Three Carolina Panthers fantasy football locks for 2018

Cam Newton

This may seem like an obvious pick for fantasy football, but the fact of the matter is, Cam Newton is the best fantasy option for the Carolina Panthers. Although he may have had a down season by Cam Newton standards (22 touchdowns, 16 interceptions), he has the potential to have one of his best fantasy seasons ever in 2018.

For one, his wide receivers have been restocked with Torrey Smith and Jarius Wright leading the way. Combine that with a wideout who is poised to break out in 2018. That gives him plenty of weapons to throw to and many vertical opportunities to throw deep balls down the field. From a fantasy perspective, that is fantasy player’s dream. To put it simply, more yards= more fantasy points.

In addition, he may have to run for his life this year. With offensive line troubles, he could put up many rushing touchdowns this season. The most he has ever had in a season was 14 back in his rookie season of 2011. This past season, he set a career-high in rushing yards with 754. Particularly in the red zone, he is a viable double threat.

In last year’s ESPN Mock draft, Newton went undrafted. This year, he was selected in the eighth round (No. 76 overall) by Dan Graziano. That is certainly an improvement from last year.

I would be cautious about taking Newton given the fact that he has a new offensive coordinator in addition to an unstable offensive line. However, I would not shy away from him and would pick him up if he is still available.  If you can get him in the lower rounds, that would be a bargain. There are just too many new parts in Carolina that do not make him a surefire lock.