Fantasy football projections, Week 4: Panthers-Ravens featuring Cam Newton, Kelvin Benjamin and Steve Smith

The Week 4 matchup between the Carolina Panthers and the Baltimore Ravens pits a longtime Panthers' receiver against his former team for the first time. We've got the fantasy projections for you courtesy of numberFire.

Perhaps quarterback Cam Newton's rib injury is bothering him more than fantasy owners have been led to believe so far this season. Newton missed the first week of the season with the ailment and last week, his team got rocked by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 37-19. The end result makes the game look closer than it really was as the Panthers closed the gap with the game out of reach. While Newton finished with 250 passing yards and a touchdown, he'll need to find the end zone more often if the Panthers are going to make it back to the playoffs this year, and if Newton is going to live up to his projected fantasy value.

If Newton can indeed get going, it likely means even bigger fantasy numbers from young standout receiver Kelvin Benjamin. Benjamin caught eight passes for 115 yards and a touchdown last week. Although his touchdown pass came from backup quarterback Derek Anderson in garbage time, Benjamin displayed his ability to make great plays, grabbing a 20-yard pass in the red zone with one hand in the contest. The Ravens give up their fair share of fantasy points to wide receivers, so Benjamin could see his second big week in a row.

While Lorenzo Taliaferro had quite the breakout performance against the Cleveland Browns last week, it's looking like coach John Harbaugh is still going to start Bernard Pierce in the backfield this week. The Panthers' normally impenetrable run defense got shellacked by Le'Veon Bell and the Steelers last week and given that Pierce only has 113 yards rushing in two games this year, it's possibly he could get stumped in Week 4, as Carolina looks to rebound defensively. Should Pierce struggle early on, don't be surprised if Taliaferro starts to see more touches as the game progresses.

Trouble in the running game could mean the Ravens are forced to throw early and often on Sunday, and with Steve Smith Sr. facing off against his former team for the first time since his departure in the offseason, quarterback Joe Flacco will have plenty of incentive to seek out Smith. The veteran receiver leads the team with a whopping 38 targets through the first three weeks of the season and his coming off of his second 100-yard game of the season. There's no doubt he'll be looking to inflict some major damage on his ex-employer, and that makes Smith a high upside fantasy play this week.