Devin Funchess - Stock Up

Without Benjamin, Devin Funchess is now going to be forced to be one of the focal points of the offense for Carolina.  Funchess is a massive target for Cam Newton, like Benjamin, at 6’4 230 lbs.  His 40 time left a lot to be desired at the combine, but improved tremendously as his pro day. Funchess struggled mightily with drops throughout college, dropping 20 total throughout his career. His route running has also been heavily questioned as his body isn’t as fluid as some people like, while he has virtually no breakaway speed even though he’s fast for his size. Some scouts projected he may become a “move” tight end in the pros, however Carolina has made no indication that will happen. 

Funchess is going to be thrown into a role immediately on the outside as long as his hamstring cooperates.  This isn’t going to mean immediate fantasy value, but it certainly makes him a viable/interesting target in the late rounds as a flyer.  In his first preseason game, he caught two passes, lining up outside for each of them, for gains of 34 and 19.  He didn’t show great separation as expected, but surprisingly used his body to shield the cornerback and make a great sideline catch.  It was promising to see from someone that wasn’t using his body enough in college.

He also missed a very catchable pass on 3rd down because he had alligator arms. If he shows more improvement in his second and third preseason games, he could help raise his stock tremendously. He should have no problem beating out Philly Brown, Jerricho Cotchery and Jarrett Boykin for an every down outside role as long as he’s healthy and maintains good conditioning.  While he won’t soak up 146 targets like Benjamin, we can expect at least 60 if not much more if he works out of some of his bad habits.  I’m not ready to make Funchess a major buy, but he’s officially on the radar.

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Greg Olsen - Stock Slightly Up

The #2 target for Cam Newton becomes the likely top option this year for Carolina.  Olsen has improved each of the past three seasons in Carolina, and hasn’t shown any signs of regression yet.  He saw 122 targets last year, and that number will certainly not decrease, and should hover in the 125-135 area this year with likely more red zone targets as well.

The only negative to losing Benjamin for Olsen will be the fact that defenses will be able to focus on intermediate routes more knowing that Benjamin will not be on the outside, which could result in fewer yards per catch for Olsen. A regression to his career average results in only a slight dip in receiving yards, and still makes him one of the 4 most valuable tight ends in fantasy without a doubt.

Cam Newton - Stock Down

No doubt about it, losing your top target is brutal for any quarterback.  In back to back years, Newton lost Steve Smith and now Kelvin Benjamin.  Luckily, the likely presence of a run game, one of the easiest schedules in fantasy, and health play to Cam’s favor.  However, I’m still going to lower my projections on Cam, as I don’t see his ceiling as high as it possibly could have, which was elite fantasy territory.

Newton had a chance to set a career high in passing yards this season, but that number is likely to stay around his career average of 3700 now.  While his running stats should be a boost, his touchdown total will take a slight dip with the loss of a huge red zone/deep ball threat.  Cam used to be my favorite quarterback to take in the 6th round, but I’d be willing to wait at least another round to find better value later for those late QB drafted.

Newton has managed to put in great fantasy seasons with a limited cast, but it’s not going to be easy producing with a supporting cast of Olsen, Stewart, Funchess, Boykin, Cotchery, Ginn and Brown.

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