Never Too Early: Carolina Panthers Fantasy Football Preview

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet the ...
Super Bowl Champions. Look, people can claim they're not homers all day long, but the fact of the matter is, I read/watch/write re: the Panthers a lot. (Well, as often as I can anyway.) And maybe I'm a little biased, but they're going to win the NFC South this year and they're going to do it by scoring a ton of points. Of course, if Jake Delhomme goes down again, I may look stupid. But it wouldn't be the first time.

The Breakout
The bad news? Jonathan Stewart is already getting a lot of preseason love (check him dead center of the sixth round in an average 12 teamer). The good news? The love is warranted. Stewart was thought to be a top choice of plenty of teams in the draft, but a turf toe injury let him hang around for the Cats. Note that the Carolina team doctor performed his surgery


The Bust
Honestly, I don't see one on the depth chart ... assuming that Delhomme stays healthy. (DeAngelo Williams would qualify, but he's getting drafted later than Stewart). Which means I have to pick the highest rated guy and assume that the worst could happen. And that makes Steve Smith a bust candidate; without Delhomme, he is a substantially worse option at WR1, considering what you have to pay for him. (Note that I'd still draft him, but it has to be noted.)

The Depth Chart
QB -- Jake Delhomme
RB1 -- DeAngelo Williams
RB2 -- Jonathan Stewart
WR1 -- Steve Smith
WR2 -- D.J. Hackett
WR 3 -- Mushin Muhammad
TE -- Jeff King

The Team D/ST
The once ridiculous defensive line is a lot thinner than in years, with Julius Peppers being the only holdover. But the additions of Landon Johnson and Terrence Holt are going to help shore up the linebackers and secondary. The Cats aren't the early round D/ST they once were but a nice later round alternative to overpaying.

The Skinny
The Panthers are going to be heavily undervalued in fantasy drafts; Delhomme is going to be an unbelievable steal in the 10th round (or thereabouts) while Hackett is a nice later round steal as well. King provides decent value as a low end TE2 and both Williams and Stewart will have RB value in leagues, particularly the latter. In other words, you want to target the Cats in your draft and let the haters play on without them.