Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, to the disappointment of many, did not repeat as a top five fantasy quarterback last season. In fact, his numbers regressed across the board from his 2013 season.
In 14 games, Newton completed just 58.5 percent of his passes for 3,127 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also carried the ball 103 times for 539 yards (5.2 YPC) and five touchdowns. He finished 15th overall in QB fantasy points while posting fewer passing points (162) than Alex Smith (181), Andy Dalton (178) and Kyle Orton (164). Yikes.
A lot of that can be chalked up to Newton's season-long nagging injuries. He underwent ankle surgery before the start of the 2014 regular season, suffered a broken rib and was involved in a car accident. He was never fully healthy at any point during the season. Playing behind an abysmal offense line (ranked 22nd in 2014 by Pro Football Focus) didn't help either. But there is another guilty culprit that threatens to impede Newton's fantasy scoring total again this year.
"The blame here falls more on a terrible wide receiver corps than it does on Newton," ESPN NFL Insider KC Joyner wrote. "According to ESPN States & Information, the Panthers' wideouts last season ranked last in the league in yards after contact per reception (1.0), 31st in yards after catch per reception (3.0), and 27th in reception percentage (55.9 percent of the targets directed their way were converted into receptions).
"The game tape also backs this assessment, as my game tracking had the Panthers with the highest percentage of plays where a coverage defender was credited with having good coverage on the intended receiver (25.9 percent). It's possible the development of Kelvin Benjamin and the addition of Devin Funchess will turn this around for Carolina, but with so much ground to cover, the odds of a turnaround that would vault Newton back into the top 10 might not be good."
Funchess, a second-rounder this year, was knocked by scouts before the draft for failing to consistently create separation during his time at Michigan. Despite his impressive size (6-foot-4, 225 pounds), that doesn't bode well for a Newton resurgence. Not helping matters is the continued questions marks along the offensive line where Michael Oher is expected to start at left tackle (uh-oh).
Newton is a talented player with the ability to lead all QBs in fantasy scoring in any given season. But the pieces around him this year, or lack thereof, do not suggest monster numbers from the 26-year-old signal caller. He's good value in the ninth or tenth round, but you don't need to reach for him before that.
