Our 2021 Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.
Below you will find our 2021 fantasy football projections for the Carolina Panthers.
MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams
QUARTERBACKS
| Player | Att. | Comp. | Yards | TD | INT | Rush | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Darnold | 572.3 | 354 | 4034.7 | 24.9 | 16.6 | 54.9 | 203.1 | 2.33 | 262.08 |
| P.J. Walker | 63.6 | 37.2 | 429.3 | 2.7 | 1.91 | 14.8 | 22.2 | 0.15 | 27.27 |
Sam Darnold: While he has missed three-plus games in each of his first three seasons, Darnold gets a fresh start in Carolina. With Teddy Bridgewater in Denver and no high rookie draft pick waiting his turn, Darnold is Carolina's unquestioned starter for the 2021 season. Reunited with Robby Anderson, Darnold has the most-talented group of pass-catchers of his career as he enters his age-24 season. Given that Teddy Bridgewater finished last season as a top-20 fantasy quarterback, Darnold will likely outperform his ADP if he can stay healthy.
RUNNING BACKS
| Player | Att. | Yards | TD | Rec. | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian McCaffrey | 261.9 | 1178.6 | 11.13 | 88 | 738.8 | 4.6 | 330.12 |
| Chuba Hubbard | 49.6 | 208.3 | 1.61 | 11.7 | 93.7 | 0.6 | 49.31 |
| Royce Freeman | 33.8 | 138.6 | 0.76 | 11.1 | 82.6 | 0.5 | 35.23 |
Christian McCaffrey: If you drafted McCaffrey first overall in 2020, you likely found little solace that he was fantasy's top-scoring back over the three-week window in which he appeared (Weeks 1, 2 and 9). In those games, however, CMC handled 76 touches including 17 receptions, racked up 374 yards from scrimmage and scored six total touchdowns. All of those numbers were either first or second among running backs in that split timeframe.
Before his lost season due to injury, McCaffrey was nearly an every-snap iron man in 2019. Heading into his age-25 season, he remains the top choice for me in 2021 drafts.
Chuba Hubbard: Hubbard has elite top-end speed, but Carolina's fourth-round pick is in the mix to be the handcuff to one of the league's most versatile do-it-all backs. While Mike Davis was one of the most valuable waiver-wire adds in 2020, Hubbard (or Royce Freeman) will likely have limited touches and fantasy relevance without another McCaffrey injury in 2021.
WIDE RECEIVERS
| Player | Rec. | Yards | TD | Rush | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D.J. Moore | 89 | 1214.2 | 5.8 | 2.1 | 16.8 | 0.02 | 202.52 |
| Robby Anderson | 83.1 | 1002.2 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 18.9 | 0.04 | 176.9 |
| Terrace Marshall | 48.3 | 625 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 5.5 | 0.01 | 116.06 |
| Shi Smith | 11 | 133.9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24.89 |
| Brandon Zylstra | 5.9 | 73.7 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.92 |
D.J. Moore: Moore averaged only 6.9 targets per game through his first 10 games, but that number jumped to 9.8 over his final five games. In addition, three of his four 100-yard games occurred over that final five-game stretch. Even though his 55.9% catch rate was a career low, the 23-year-old receiver's ADOT (13.2), Y/R (18.1) and receiving yards (1,193) were all career highs.
Robby Anderson: Year 1 in Carolina was generally a success for Anderson, who set career highs in targets (136), receptions (95) and yards (1,096). On the other hand, he set a career low in Y/R (11.5) and his three touchdowns were a career low outside of his rookie season. Getting off to a great start, Anderson had 74-plus yards in six of his first seven games with all three of his 100-yard games during that span. Beyond that point, however, he reached 74 yards in only two of nine games and averaged nearly 40 YPG less over the final nine-game span (91.4 YPG in first 7G vs. 50.7 in final 9G). The free-agency departure of Curtis Samuel could help Anderson improve upon his 2020 numbers.
Terrace Marshall: Over the past two seasons at LSU (including 2019 with Panthers OC Joe Brady), Marshall scored a total of 23 touchdowns. Injury concerns led to his slide to the bottom of Round 2, but he will start immediately in three-wide sets with D.J. Moore and Anderson and is a high-upside, late-round target in fantasy drafts.
TIGHT ENDS
| Player | Rec. | Yards | TD | Rush | Yards | TD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Arnold | 30.3 | 366 | 2.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68.55 |
| Ian Thomas | 7.8 | 84.8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.38 |
| Tommy Tremble | 3.9 | 37.9 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.14 |
| Colin Thompson | 1 | 11.2 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.22 |
Dan Arnold: Arnold easily set career highs in Arizona in 2020 with 31 catches for 438 yards and four touchdowns. Joe Brady has familiarity with Arnold going back to their time together with the Saints and he immediately becomes the team's top pass-catching tight end, but it's possible he fails to duplicate last year's numbers.
Ian Thomas: With Greg Olsen in Seattle last season, Thomas failed to deliver on his sleeper appeal. While he led the team's tight ends in receiving, Thomas had only 20 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown over a full 16-game season in 2020.
Tommy Tremble: Due to his ability as a run blocker, Tremble should earn plenty of snaps as a rookie. Although his receiving opportunities in South Bend were limited, he has the athleticism to eventually become more involved as a receiver at the NFL level although that won't happen in 2021.
More Carolina Panthers pages:
- Carolina Panthers Mock Draft Roundup
- Carolina Panthers NFL Power Rankings Roundup
- Carolina Panthers Snap Counts
- Carolina Panthers Franchise Leaders
- Carolina Panthers Draft History
- Carolina Panthers Schedule
- Carolina Panthers Tickets
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