The Carolina Panthers are expected to split the carries at running back between Darrin Reaves, Fozzy Whittaker and Chris Ogbonnaya against the Chicago Bears in Week 5.
Fantasy owners should avoid Panthers running backs for now
The Panthers are likely going to split up the carries at tailback this week. We break down the fantasy implications.
Rob Carr
Jonathan Stewart (knee), DeAngelo Williams (foot) and Mike Tolbert (leg) are all going to miss this game and could all miss multiple weeks -- Tolbert is out for approximately two months. The Panthers haven't had success running the ball just yet, ranking 29th in the NFL in rushing yards per game and 31st in rushing yards per attempt. In other words, they are in dire straits as far as a ground attack goes.
Reaves is expected to lead the committee, but he was horrible against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4 with 26 yards on 12 carries. Ogbonnaya has been more of a pass-catching back and will likely help in that capacity while Whittaker could help in a variety of sets.
Fantasy impact: While this is a nice matchup, it's a little too cloudy to mess with in most cases. Expect to see a lot of quarterback Cam Newton in a near must-win game for Carolina.
