Predicting Chuba Hubbard, Diontae Johnson, and other Carolina Panthers week 4 fantasy football finishes

Matt Alquiza | 11 Hours Ago

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Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers received quite the spark with the insertion of Andy Dalton into the starting lineup.

Dalton lit up the Oakland Raiders to the tune of 26 completions, 319 yards, and three touchdowns, finshing as the QB8 on the week. It was as incredible as it was unpredictable. Football is a physical sport played with an oblong ball that often defies reason, and Dalton's week three performance is the sport we all know and love in a nutshell.

His first chance at following up his week three masterpiece comes against the team that drafted him, the Cincinnati Bengals. Dalton wore tiger stripes for nine seasons, making three Pro Bowls and leading Cincinnati to five playoff berths.

By all accounts, his former team is struggling on defense. The Bengals just lost to Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football, and those Commanders scored every single time they touched the ball. According to DVOA, the Bengals have the 24th ranked defense in the NFL. Lou Anarumo's unit has become one that fantasy managers can plan to target in 2024, and the Carolina Panthers are next in line to take advantage of the leaky Cincinnati defense.

Andy Dalton

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There's no way Dalton can do it again, right? Expecting the 36-year-old gunslinger to finish as a top ten quarterback for a second straight week is a fool's errand, but it is definitely within his range of outcomes. Quarterbacks are averaging 18.7 points per game against the Bengals thus far in 2024, and Dalton has ideal blend of arm, scheme, and surrounding talent to shred his former squad.

In week two Patrick Mahomes dropped 16 fantasy points on the Bengals (CBS Sports standard scoring) with a stat line of 18/25 passing for 151 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. I'm expecting Dalton to fare better than Mahomes (what planet are we living on?) finishing with a statistical output of 22/30 for 230 yards and two touchdowns. Dalton is a startable QB2 in superflex formats, but nothing more than that. On his best day he was a backend QB1, and it's reasonable to expect a slight step back from his dreamland day in Vegas.

Chuba Hubbard

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Hubbard ran like a man possessed in week three. Or a man ticked off that the team that employs him traded up and drafted his replacement in this year's NFL Draft. Up for interpretation. Cincinnati's front seven is the biggest weakness on their struggling defense, and Hubbard will be fed early and often in Dave Canales' run-first scheme.

The Bengals are allowing 107 yards and a touchdown per game to opposing rushers. The Panthers rushing attack founds it's teeth in week three, and I'm projecting Hubbard to gnash those teeth from the opening snap on Sunday. Chuba touched the ball 26 times against the raiders, racking up 169 yards and a score in the Panthers' victory. The Panthers will be missing starting guard Damien Lewis (who was key to Hubbard's success) against the Bengals, but Cincinnati will counter the Panthers dominant offensive line with two backups at the defensive tackle positions.

I'm projecting Hubbard for 130 rushing yards and a score on 18 carries against the Bengals. The veteran running back did his best Christian McCaffrey cosplay in week one catching five balls from Dalton, and I foresee him hauling in four passes in week four. If you roster Hubbard, you're playing Hubbard. No advice needed.

Diontae Johnson

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Johnson was the biggest winner from Andy Dalton's promotion to starting quarterback. The veteran wide out nearly quadrupled his output from the season's first two weeks against the Raiders. His 122 yards were a career-high, and his 14 targets from Dalton were the most for any receiver in the league last week.

Cam Taylor-Britt has talked plenty of cash early in the season, but Terry McLaurin proved that the veteran corner's talk is cheap. Look for Johnson to receive the bulk of Dalton's target again on his way to a six catch, 90 yard game against Cincinnati.

Jonathan Mingo

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Mingo fill be fully actualized in the absence of Adam Thielen. He's a natural slot receiver, and the absence of Dalton will allow the sophomore receiver to play the position he's best suited for. Mingo won't have a huge game against the Bengals, but he's one of my favorite bets for an anytime touchdown scorer in the league this week.