Fantasy Football Daily - 2022 Franchise Focus: Carolina Panthers

Episode Date: July 22, 2022

Joe Dolan (@FG_Dolan) invites NFL Analyst John Ellis (@1PantherPlace) to discuss the upcoming season for the Carolina Panthers. The Franchise Focus Podcast series is brought to you by Underdog Fantasy (@UnderdogFantasy). New users can sign up to Underdog using promo code FANTASYPTS for up to $100 in bonus cash on their first deposit. Visit fantasypoints.com/underdog for more info. The podcast series is also sponsored by Evan's Sports Cards & Collectibles (@evanscards). Follow @EvansCards on Twitter for weekly updates and card releases, Like on Facebook, and head to evanssportsnj.com for more info, including the always-updated eBay store. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fantasy-points-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fantasypoints.com and the 2022 franchise focus series is sponsored by Underdog Fantasy, the best and easiest way to play fantasy sports, with no waivers, trades, or lineup setting for season-long drafts. New users can sign up to Underdog Fantasy Fantasy, PTS, for up to $100 in bonus cash on their first deposit. That's promo code FantasyPTS. Head to FantasyPoint.com slash Underdog for more information. Now let's get to the show. It's time for the Fantasy Points podcast brought to you by FantasyPoints.com. Top level fantasy football and NFL betting analysis from every perspective and angle,

from numbers to the film room, with a single goal to help you score more fantasy points. The franchise focus podcast series here at FantasyPoint.com, and you guys might notice that we, for the first time all summer, we have gone out of alphabetical order. We've been doing reverse alphabetical order because, you know, we had a discussion before we did the podcast series. We're like, why don't we go backwards this time? Because Washington and Tennessee are always last.

Well, they were first for us. And today's podcast here on July 22nd was supposed to be the Cleveland Browns. We're recording it on July 20th. And I think you guys will understand why I've post-pourable. home Cleveland until next week at this point to see if maybe we get any update on the Deshawn Watson fiasco. But we'll see what happened. So what I had to do was I had to bring in another team that I hadn't done yet, that I could get scheduled on a short amount of time. And it's a team that fortunately for us, because if we, if this was not in reverse alphabetical

order, we would have done Carolina in June and we wouldn't have been able to break down the Baker-Mayfield trade. So a little bit of serendipity working out for us with the Carolina Panthers. Another little bit of serendipity. By the way, I'm Joe Dolan, if I didn't say that. You guys know that. It doesn't matter. Another little bit of serendipity is I found the absolute perfect guess for today's show. He is a guy who lives right up the road from me, which I didn't realize until this week. Probably shouldn't be that shocking, considering I'm near Carolina Panthers. But nonetheless, John Ellis is he works for I-Heart radio.

He does the, he does the Roar podcast with Billy Marshall, who's been a mutual Twitter follower of me for a good number of years here. He's the Fox Sports Upstate afternoon host, and he is just an all-around great guy. John, welcome to the podcast. You can follow him on Twitter, by the way, at one, the digit one, Panther Place. He knows the Carolina Panthers inside and out,

and I am glad to have them on the podcast. John, welcome to the show. It's great talking to you. We've already decided we're going to set up a beer here down the road. But look, if you need Panthers information, John's your guy. What's up, John? Joe, Joe, that's the most warm, kind introduction I've ever received in the world of broadcasting or podcasting.

I appreciate that, man. Yeah, I'm all for grabbing that beer. Let's do it. Look, and we'll throw a shout out to Greg Kosell, who kind of, in a way, indirectly introduced us because you wanted to have Greg on your show. And now I feel like this can be a mutual symbiotic kind of relationship here. A little bit of a give and take. Look, you're now, you're now a member of the website. Maybe I'll, maybe I'll hop on the radio show in the upstate. We'd love to educate the people down here about fantasy football. We're going to set it up, man.

And your partner, Greg Cocell, your colleague there, is one of the kindest and most knowledgeable people on earth when it comes to football. And I can't think you guys, enough for all you do at fantasy points, man. It's great. Well, I really appreciate it, but like, as opposed to us just like patting ourselves on the back here, we got to give them some information, John. And we'll get to that. But first, I have to let you know that the franchise focus series of podcasts is brought to you by Evans, sports cards, and collectibles, the best place for cards, collectibles, autographs, and more. All of our memorabilia giveaways are from Evans. And Evans always has the latest boxes and releases from Panini,

upper deck, tops, and more. And it's not a super store. It's a family-owned small business. one that you can feel really good about supporting. If you're in the Philadelphia area, go for an in-person visit. But if you're not in the Philadelphia area, follow at Evans Cards on Twitter for weekly updates and card releases. You can also get those by liking Evans on Facebook and heading to Evansportsnj.com. For more info where you can access the always updated, always refreshed eBay store with all of the latest releases.

That's Evans SportsNJ.com online and at Evans Cards on Twitter and tell them, but the guys from fantasy points.com sent you. So, John, we obviously have big news for the Carolina Panthers, and that would be the trade for Baker Mayfield, the acquisition of Baker Mayfield from the Cleveland Browns. And it feels like this has been in the work for a while, and finally the two sides agreed to the price. This is going to be a two-tiered question.

Number one, were you surprised that this happened? And number two, how much of them saying this is a, quarterback competition is just them blowing smoke up your you know what because I frankly don't believe it's an open competition. I think Baker was brought in to be the starter. So were you surprised by the move? And number two, are you going to be shocked if this is an open competition? Yeah, number one, I was not surprised by the move. I think this is something that's been on Carolina's radar right up where the draft led up to when we had conversations with a couple of sources around the team, and then we followed up with some reporting that corroborated that from guys

like Jonathan Alexander, you know, Joe Person from the Athletic had been reporting on this, Ellis Williams from the Charlotte Observer as well, had been all sort of leaning in this direction that, hey, on draft night, there was a lot of conversation between these two sides about how to swing a deal for Baker Mayfield. The Panthers wisely, unlike the Sam Darnold fiasco, were patient. sort of waited this one out. They drafted Matt Corral, which gave them some sense of leverage, I suppose. And then into the summer months here, those conversations between Cleveland and Carolina continued to the point where they finally came up with an acceptable arrangement. Cleveland did not want to keep Baker on that roster. We all kind of knew that. It was going to be,

I think, if not toxic, at least awkward. I don't know what's going to happen with Watson, by the way. We'll see with that. We're a wild card for them, but Baker was never going to play another snap for that team. So they needed to move him. Garoppolo was in consideration. I never really thought that they were going to go that direction. Considering the shoulder issues with Jimmy, that's something they've dealt with in the past with quarterbacks,

particularly Cam Newton. And I think that's just something they wanted to steer away from. The guy, Jimmy's only started about nine games a year since 2017. So I think Baker Mayfield was, you know, a smart addition for them in the sense that they're only paying a relatively small amount of his salary. I mean, Baker took a bit of a haircut to come down here. And he can earn some of that back with a field gates posted yesterday. It's a laundry list of incentives that he'll have to fight for, including, you know, getting to the NFC championship game. A lot of high bars there.

But Baker's a competitive guy. He brings you some fire. He brings you a little bit of competitive fire. haven't had at that position since Newton was in his prime. And I think it's a decent fit. Now, how will he mesh with Matt Rule? I don't know. We'll see. How will he fit into Ben McAdoo's offense? That's what training camp is for. We're less than two weeks away. So we're going to find out pretty soon. As far as the competition side, I'm with you. I don't sense that this is going to be much of a competition between Sam and Baker. They have to say that. I get it. But you've got to sense, Joe, they've got to give Baker the majority of the reps. They made a play for him. They brought him in for a reason. I mean, they had trusted Sam

Darnold. You're not bringing in Baker Mayfield. So from my perspective, if Baker's not receiving the majority of the reps in camp by at least the third or fourth full practice, that's going to be surprising to me. What's the, what's kind of the pulse of the fan base here about this move? Because you would have to think, Darnold did not endear himself very well to the fan base. And is there Is there like some optimism here? Hey, let's get him a change of scenery, see what's going to happen? Or do they feel like it's a desperation move to save Matt Rule's job?

I, you know, I've gone back and forth to this about the Matt Rule thing. I don't know if Matt Rule has the total scope of power that he did in terms of roster decisions that he once did. Now, you know, you talk people around that organization, you talk to some reporters close to that team. You still get the sense that Matt Rule does have final say on roster control. But Scott Fitterer is looking to build a winner here. He's looking to build a team that can start competing within this division. You've got to start knocking on the door with the Saints, especially with Tampa. I mean, this is a team in Carolina.

They've done some decent things here with their defense. They've made some strides. But the quarterback position has been a sieve since Mad Rule arrived. And it's been a big part of the reason why Tampa Bay, who I would argue, has the best quarterback in football, still to this day on their roster. best of all time. Tom Brady, Carolina can't even sniff a win against this team and four tries under Matt Rule. So is it moved to save Matt Rule's job? I don't know. I definitely think they've upgraded the position. I would say I'm a little more bullish on Baker than most people are, just based on looking at his tape from 2020, knowing what he dealt with last year with his left

shoulder, wearing that brace. That was not an easy go. And he tried to play three. And he tried to play through it. A lot of people criticize him for that. To me, that showed a certain level of competitive toughness that you're looking for in a quarterback. Now, are there some concerns? I mean, people have cited, though, is that he's not that well liked in the locker room at times. You know, the whole fallout with Odell last year and then Odell goes to the Rams and looks great. There's a lot of perception versus reality there, I think, with Baker. To me, I think it's a step in the right direction, getting a guy that's had playoff experience. And Joe, that's a big deal for this team. Having a guy at the helmet quarterback that has been there, that has taken his team

with some weapons around him, with a good offensive line, but has been to the playoffs and has won a playoff game on the road. So will it save Matt Ruhl's job? Well, if they win, you know, nine, ten games, tickle the playoffs or even get into the playoffs, I'm sure it will, but I don't know if that's the design of it. So obviously this is a fantasy podcast, and you just mentioned Baker Mayfield had weapons in Cleveland, but it's not like they're devourable. void of talent with the Panthers. I mean, but from a fantasy perspective, the big question is this one. Christian McCaffrey has played 10 games in the last two seasons.

When Christian McCaffrey is on the field, Christian McCaffrey is the best player in fantasy football. That has been the case even up until and including last season. Now, maybe he's lost a step or whatever because of the injuries. But the Panthers have to realize how much better a football team they are when he's healthy. And the question now for you, John, is, A, how optimistic are they that he can stay healthy? And B, is there anything they're doing maybe with rotating a Deonté Foreman in there that they think will help him stay fresh and really make the explosive plays that we're used to him making this year? Yeah, I think the point about Dante Foreman is great. I think that they add a back there that's got power, that's got production.

You look at his stats last year from Tennessee down the stretch. And he was really a big part of what they did when Derek Henry went down. And he was very effective. He had some great runs and some big times. moments, particularly in that Cincinnati game, remember in that Frisco game. He had some big plays. And he brings you a change of pace, I think, that's welcome here to Carolina. Chuba Hubbard is still a developmental back. I like him a lot. But McCaffrey, I think the big thing is just he's talked about this in the offseason, not working less hard, but working different, maybe getting some different

perspectives. He reached out to Marshall Falk in the off season and talked with him about maybe some different ways to train. And Marshall obviously had a Hall of Fame career playing a similar role in an offense that Christian McCaffrey is trying to find his way into now. I think McCaffrey is the key to everything with this team. And I'm sure a lot of fantasy owners out there are looking in that same direction too, because, man, when he's on his game, not necessarily from a fantasy perspective directly, but indirectly, his ability to pass protect is so crucial.

There was a touchdown last year, week one. one of Sam's few good throws, a post route to Robbie Anderson, a long touchdown, where it had not been for McCaffrey's pass blocking, that throw never gets off. So his pass blocking is really undervalued. He's great in chipping backs or chipping ins out of the backfield and getting to the flat, running those option routes. You can split him into the slot. You can split them to that weak side.

He can run those option routes for you. If I'm them, and I'm not, and I think Ben McAdoo might look at it this way, as well, I would hope so. Look back at the tape in 2017, the way Mike Shula used him his rookie year, and he was much more diversified in his role. North Turner, I have a lot of respect for Norv and Scott Turner, but when they brought Norv in, I think they used McCaffrey in more of an Emmett Smith type of role, more of a, you know, two-back, sort of dot the eye, and let's try to run through the tackles. And they got a lot of production out of him. But at the end of the day, you've got to use his ability as a receiver. because he arguably, Joe, I would argue he's the best route runner on this team.

And I would also say he's got maybe the best pair of hands on this team as well. Robbie Anderson's had some drops. DJ Moore is a good ball catcher and a good contested catcher, but his route running is still developing here. So McCaffrey needs to be utilized smarter, I think, coming into the season. Maybe not less reps, just smarter reps. So the receiving group, we know about DJ Moore. And look, I'll be honest here, John, at FantasyPoints.com, we move DJ Moore up when we really dug into the numbers on Baker Mayfield, who's just a more aggressive and frankly a better thrower than Sam Darnold.

But we know about DJ Moore. We know DJ Moore is great. We'd like to see him get in the end zone a couple more times. But DJ Moore is a top 10, probably wide receiver in the NFL who doesn't get the credit because of poor quarterback play. But the other guys are what I'm concerned about. Robbie Anderson, before the trade for Baker Mayfield, he's out there on Instagram saying, I don't want Baker. I'm sure they're burying that hatchet right now.

And then Terrace Marshall had the great preseason last season and just could not translate that production to the regular season. When it comes to those two guys, what are your expectations for them? What are the Panthers expectations for Robbie Anderson and Terrace Marshall? And is there any reason to get excited from a fantasy perspective? Well, I think you certainly can look back to Robbie Anderson and say the guy has done it before. I mean, last year the production dropped off, obviously 53 receptions, only 9.8 yards per reception. And when you bring in a Robbie Anderson, Joe, that's not what you're expecting.

You're expecting big-time plays over the top, somebody who can take the top off the defense. Some of the best work he did in Carolina was honestly with Teddy Bridgewater. and Bridgewater's processing skills were far beyond that of Sam Darnold. And let's not forget, there was a rotating door of quarterbacks to the point last year where Matt Ruhl, naturally born college coach, was sort of platooning quarterbacks at the end of the season. That's a really bad formula. You can't get yourself in a rhythm as a receiver when you've got a different quarterback lined up almost every series. So that, I think, was problematic.

Now, Robbie had some drops. his yard per receptions have gone down since he arrived here. He was a 15 yard per catch guy in New York. Less receptions, but more explosive plays over the top. I think with Baker's arm strength, and he's got when he's healthy, and this is the big thing with Baker, just get yourself to where you can throw with torque again. Because last year, you had left side.

I know it's a left shoulder issue, but his ability to turn and torque and follow through was obviously diminished on tape. You can see it. So you get the real Baker back from 2020, from 2019 and 18, some of the deep balls he threw that year, although he did throw some picks. He can get the ball to where Robbie Anderson can get it. Robbie was open a lot last year. He was.

He was open on some of the dig routes. He was open on some of the nine routes, some of the deep post routes. And they just couldn't get him the ball because Sam's accuracy on deep balls was just not there. Newton, we know the story there with his deep ball. So I think it's just vital that Baker stays healthy. and they protect. And that gets back to the offensive line, too. They've upgraded significantly there. They stay healthy with Akim Akwanao, Austin Corbett at guard, Bradley Bozeman at center. You kick Christensen into left guard.

You got Taylor Moten on the right side. That's a unit that can give these guys time to run these routes and develop. Terris Marshall is interesting. When you look back at Terrace's rookie year, it was a great camp. I mean, I was there every day in Spartanburg watching him work his way through camp. The regular season, hits. He only gets 30 targets, 17 receptions, only eight per. And I think you're going to see more of a power slot role for him this year. Get him more active. You've got your ex and DJ more. You've got your, obviously your guy that can move from the slot to the outside of Robbie Anderson. But you've got a bona fide power slot guy in Terrace Marshall Jr. at his size at like 6-2, 200 plus pounds.

That's just too gifted to ignore. So I think Ben McAdoo is going to make a real effort, get him more involved. I think you've got to put an asterisk beside everything that happened last year offensively with this team because Joe Brady was fired halfway through the season on the back end of a buy week. It was a little bit of dysfunctioning chaos. Jeff Nixon comes in. The running back coach does not have any play-calling experience in this league. And production falls as a result. So I'm expecting bigger things from both Anderson and Marshall this year. Just really briefly, before I, before I asked my closing question, which is a fantasy sleeper, is there anything to get excited about here at the tight end position?

I got to be honest, John, when I saw the terms on an Ian Thomas extension, I was like, they did what? Like, I don't think I remember a single play he's made. And I was kind of excited about Tommy Trembal coming out of college. Is there just anything there to get excited about? Well, you know, Ben McAdoo likes using tight ends in a number of ways, as blockers, as receivers, and in their intermediate portion of the field. I think Trembles the guy that might emerge this year.

And we talk to your colleague, Greg Cosell in my podcast. And the best quote I ever heard about Tommy Trembal is his blocking ability, he'll melt your face mask. That was the best quote. Yes. And he really does. Yeah, because I put a tweet out about it because, you know, I read all of Greg Scouting reports every year because I edit them for the website.

Yeah. And like, when you're scouting players, like these guys are, you know, you're going to use the same phrases over again. That's the only time I've seen him use that one. I can guarantee you that. I've never in my life of doing this have heard an analyst say, melt your face mask off. And then I got so excited, I went back and looked at his Notre Dame tape. I was like, oh, boy, yeah, this guy can block. And he showed it last year.

He made some plays in the passing game. He had 20 catches, only nine per carry or only nine per catch. he did have a rushing touchdown on sort of a jet sweep they ran against Houston. I think he'll emerge a little bit there. Now, the thing with Ian Thomas, he's got great athleticism. I've liked Ian since he came out from Indiana. He's shown some flashes. But for his career, you know, you're talking about a career that's gone back to 2018.

He's got 90 receptions, 8.9 yards per four touchdowns since he's been in the league. Now, he had a little bit of Greg Olson time there too, where he was, tuning under him, but that was pretty short-lived. So I think with Ian, you get the money because they value you as a blocker. You've got to start showing the ability to take the game over a little bit in the passing game. And he's got the skills to do it. He's got the speed to do it. He's got the size at 64-260. He's a pretty complete tight-in to me. But I think if you're a fantasy owner, I wouldn't get too excited about either for your fantasy needs as a blocking. unit. I think they're in good shape out of like 12 personnel to do some good things in the

blocking game. But in terms of production, I'd be a little bit of, you know, buyer beware on these guys to this point right now. All right, John, we've broken down pretty much the entire roster, but if there is somebody on this roster, maybe we haven't talked about yet, who could produce some numbers for the Panthers this year, maybe somebody who's not really getting drafted for fantasy purposes, who would that be based on what you've seen or what you're hiring this offseason? Well, there's one guy we haven't talked about much. It's Richard Higgins. And I think we should be because anything can happen at camp. You know, you could see a guy like Higgins come in. Of course, Hollywood Higgins, the nickname, had some good production with Cleveland, 137 receptions on his career, 12 touchdowns. And was sort of an early favorite of Baker Mayfields there in 2018 as a rookie through four touchdowns to him, came back that 2020 season where they went to the playoffs, four more touchdowns. That's for, for, for, for. For Panther standards, that's good production. I mean, the Panthers have not caught a lot of touchdowns as a receiving group the past

couple of years. Part of that's the quarterback play. But I think his chemistry with Baker Mayfield, if Mayfield stays healthy, I think Higgins has an opportunity to be a 40-reception, 600-yard, 8-9 touchdown guy. He can take the top off. He's a good Rob Runner, 6-1. He's got big hands. He's a guy that can make plays.

And I'm optimistic on him. I guess one more name, too. I'll just throw this out to you, is for Brennan Zilstrup. Zilstra is a guy that did play pretty extensively last year and had 18 catches, 250 yards. These are going to be bubble guys. So if Zilstra sneaks in the back door and makes the team, he's a guy that can produce in terms of yards after the catch. He had 14 yards of reception last year. So I'm a little optimistic on Zilstra as well.

But I would lean towards Hollywood Higgins as a guy for your fantasy crowd. If you're looking at Panthers, you're looking at, OK, DJ Moore, Robbie Anderson, Terrace. We know about those guys. Look out for Higgins. I think he might have a pretty good year. But it's kind of funny when the Panthers made the trade for Baker Mayfield, our entire reaction in our little group chat on our Discord server was, all right, we're going to move up DJ Moore.

And we'll give Robbie Anderson a little bit of a bump and we'll see about Terrace Marshall. And then I went and checked the roster and I'm like, oh, I said this to John Hanson. I'm like, John, do you know who's on the Panthers roster? Shard Higgins. And he was like, whoa. And like knowing that like sometimes quarterbacks just have these guys who they can't quit. They trust them to be in the right spot. You know, I wouldn't be surprised, like, nobody's going to draft for Shard Higgins. But I wouldn't be surprised if, like, if you're in a 14

team league at some point, you're like, oh, God, I got like three guys on by. I'm dying. You know, I'll pick up for Shard Higgins. He might catch three or four passes. Well, and it gives them insurance, too. Like, you never know in this league. Robby's had a pretty good track record of health. So is DJ. But if any one of those guys go down, or if Trimble doesn't evolve, as you would hope, or if McCaffrey goes down, for instance, they're going to have to find somebody else to feed targets. And I would imagine, like you said, that sort of already, that install-based chemistry, if you will, with Baker and Higgins. It's been there. They've already installed that thing. That's going to be a guy, I think, in camp early on, he leans on because

they played together for so long. They've had so many reps together. It's just a natural fit. But no, there's so many, so many balls to go around. I wouldn't go out and draft the guy, but no, you get to mid-season, there's an injury. He's going to be the guy probably to emerge and step up. This man literally wakes up and training camp is in his backyard. So if you want Carolina Panthers updates, you follow John Ellis on Twitter at one Panther Place. That's the numeral one and then Panther Place.

You can also listen to him on IHeart Radio and the Fox Sports Upstate afternoon show. And for Panthers fans, you want them unfiltered, the Roar podcast on Blue Wire with Billy Marshall. John, it has been wonderful. I will definitely take you up on that offer to grab a beer. It's great to meet somebody who's just down the road and who obviously has a strong passion and knowledge of the Carolina Panthers. It was just really a wonderful podcast. I really appreciate you. You guys are the best, man. I appreciate you, Joe. We'll see you soon. Well, guys, hopefully everything is going to work out okay. Maybe we'll get some news on the Cleveland Browns and I'll get you that podcast out next week.

We're talking Cincinnati Bengals tomorrow and then we'll be back Monday with the Chicago Bears and then hopefully Cleveland after that. we are in the final, final run of franchise focus podcasts here on fantasy points.com. We're going to get them all out before the end of July. Before really training camp gets really into the full swing before the preseason starts. I'm so excited to bring this to you. My name is Joe Dolan. You can follow me on Twitter at FG underscore Dolan. Thanks to John Ellis.

Thanks to everybody listening. I'll be back with more tomorrow. Thanks for tuning into this edition of the Fantasy Points podcast. Remember to subscribe, rate, and review on your favorite platform, and come join the roster at FantasyPoint.com.