Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down: Carolina Panthers

Welcome back to the “Fantasy Stock Up, Stock Down” series (off-season edition). What a time of the year. The NFL Draft is officially in the books. Undrafted free agents are getting signed like crazy. And we are approaching the slow season, as teams look to add veteran free agents in this next wave of free agency. As always, we will break down each NFL team one by one. Today is all about the Carolina Panthers. 

STOCK UP – D.J. MOORE

I don’t know about you, but it feels like D.J. Moore has been in the league a long time at this point. In reality, he’s only 25 years old, and he’s entering his fifth season as a pro. During his first four seasons, he’s hauled in passes from seven different starting quarterbacks. Four of them (Cam Newton, Kyle Allen, Teddy Bridgewater, and Sam Darnold) had started at least 11 games. Darnold is expected to start the 2022 season as the team’s starting signal-caller, but the team did decide to draft Matt Corral in the third round of this year’s draft. There are also rumors surrounding trade ideas involving names like Jimmy Garoppolo and Baker Mayfield. The point is that Moore hasn’t had extended time to develop a great relationship/connection with any quarterback during his tenure in the league. 

So why should his dynasty value be increasing as we approach the 2022 season? First of all, Carolina gave him a three-year $61.9M extension. He’s locked in as the surefire WR1 for this team that also rosters mediocre receivers in Robby Anderson, Terrace Marshall Jr., Shi Smith, and Rashard Higgins. The team opted not to add more talent to the position during the draft this past week. And the expectation is that (for now) Darnold will serve as the team’s QB1 to start the season. Here’s a sad stat for you. If he starts five games, he’ll tie Newton for the most starts in a two-year window during Moore’s playing career. This means Moore and Darnold will get a chance to develop some great chemistry, and if the two create a spark, it could mean Darnold keeps the starting gig for a little while longer. 

When the duo was first paired to start the 2021 season, Moore was primed for a breakout season. In the first four weeks of the season, he accumulated 89.7 PPR points and was on pace to finish as the WR4. Darnold went on to start the next five games and then the team’s final two. In the 11 games Darnold started, Moore averaged 14.8 PPR points per game. In the other six games, Moore averaged 12.4 PPR points per game. He still managed to finish the season as the WR18 despite the inconsistent play at quarterback. Looking back, some of the best football of his career came during those first four weeks of the season though. In fact, his 31.9 PPR-point outing in Week 4 against Dallas was the best fantasy performance of his four-year career. Because he’s developed a strong connection with Darnold already, he’s only 25, and he’s the surefire WR1 for this team now and for the foreseeable future, Moore needs to be looked at harder in dynasty leagues. His value is increasing more as the season looms. And the time to go out and trade for him is now! 

Other Notables: Tommy Tremble, Chuba Hubbard

STOCK DOWN – TERRACE MARSHALL JR. 

What an abysmal rookie season Marshall Jr. put together in 2021. It didn’t start out all that bad. He was drafted 59th overall in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft with high aspirations out of LSU. Early on, he was involved in a somewhat pass-happy offense highlighted by Christian McCaffrey and the Darnold-Moore connection. During the first five weeks of the season, Marshall Jr. logged at least three targets per game while also seeing the field for more than half the team’s offensive snaps. During that same span, his numbers weren’t amazing, but he was a rookie that hauled in 13 receptions for 107 yards. In the next 12 weeks of the season, he missed four games, was held to zero catches four different times, and only produced four more receptions for 31 yards the rest of the year. 

There’s certainly a way for Marshall Jr. to bounce back and put together a decent sophomore season. But why should we be optimistic at this point? First of all, McCaffrey will be back healthy to start the season. There are rumors surrounding the idea that he may see less work on the ground and more work as a slot receiver because of the nagging injuries he’s gone through the past few years. On top of that, Moore just recently signed an extension, and he’s now contracted through 2026. We already went over the fact that he’s the surefire WR1 for this team now and in the future. Then you have Robby Anderson. The 29-year-old has not been a consistent pass-catcher as of late, but his contract doesn’t end until 2024. And of course, Carolina can’t find a quarterback that they like and can depend on for an extended amount of time. None of this is new from last season, which doesn’t help Marshall Jr. in any way. 

Instead of paving a way for Masrhall Jr. to be more involved in the offense this season, Carolina decided to add a little more talent around him. Rashard Higgins comes into town on a one-year deal. And he’s more than capable of leap-frogging Marshall Jr. as the team’s WR3. In fact, the Panthers are high on one-year pro wide receiver Shi Smith. He was selected four rounds later than Marshall Jr. in last year’s draft, but he ended up producing similar rookie numbers (6 receptions for 104 yards on 21 percent of the team’s offensive snaps). Let’s face it, Marshall Jr.’s outlook is a bit murky. Would we be surprised if he came out and molded himself as the team’s third-best pass-catcher behind McCaffrey and Moore? No. Could he find himself as the team’s sixth, seventh, or even eighth-leading receiver this season? Sure. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if McCaffrey, Moore, Anderson, Higgins, Smith, Chuba Hubbard, Tommy Tremble, and even Ian Thomas outproduced him this season. For that reason, his stock is down right now. So if you truly believe in his future dynasty value, go out and trade for him now for dirt cheap. 

Other Notables: Robby Anderson, Sam Darnold

Teams Broken Down Already: Bears, Bengals, Bills, Broncos, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, 49ers, Giants, Jaguars, Jets, Lions, Packers

Did you enjoy this article and want more Dynasty, Devy, IDP, and Redraft content? Click here for a 12-month DFF Membership. You can also follow me @dirrim23 where I love talking about all things fantasy football.