The Carolina Panthers host the Oakland Raiders in Week 16. Both teams are just playing out the string, but the Panthers are finishing strong and there's some interesting fantasy matchups here for championship week. In order to help you set the optimal playoff lineup, we've got player projections courtesy of numberFire.
Raiders vs. Panthers: Fantasy football projections featuring Cam Newton, Darren McFadden, Steve Smith
We break down the pertinent fantasy projections for the Week 16 matchup between the Oakland Raiders and Carolina Panthers.
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Oakland Raiders
The Raiders plan on getting Terrelle Pryor more involved in the offense, taking snaps away from Carson Palmer. Palmer isn't in danger of him losing his job, but he's way too erratic to trust in the fantasy Super Bowl. Darren McFadden topped 100 yards last week for only the third time all season. He's been one of the biggest fantasy disappointments this year.
Denarius Moore has disappeared after a hot start to the season and is a shaky WR4 at best. As long as the passing game is struggling, none of these receivers are recommended starts.
Carolina Panthers
Nobody is talking about it, but Cam Newton is playing some of the best football of his young career. He has accounted for ten total touchdowns and no interceptions during the Panthers’ three-game winning streak and has a juicy matchup against the Raiders atrocious defense. Start him as a QB1 with confidence.
Jonathan Stewart is listed as questionable and has a chance to return, which would further muddy the waters in the backfield. This unit has been a cluster all season and can't be trusted in the championship games.
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