The Week 1 matchup between the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars features two teams with plenty to prove. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 1: Panthers-Jaguars featuring Cam Newton, Greg Olsen and Blake Bortles
We break down the Week 1 matchup between the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Carolina Panthers
2014 was a season to forget for quarterback Cam Newton. He seemingly got rushed or hit all the time, and he finished with a career low 3,127 passing yards and 18 touchdown passes. That didn’t stop the Panthers from giving him a big time contract extension in the offseason. With top receiver Kelvin Benjamin out for the year with a torn ACL, Newton will be in for a tough 2015. That said, a juicy matchup against the Jaguars is the perfect opportunity for him to start the season in a rhythm. Fantasy owners can be cautiously optimistic about his prospects for Week 1.
With an unproven group of receivers in front of him, Newton will undoubtedly rely on tight end Greg Olsen to move the ball down the field. Despite the fact that the Panthers sputtered offensively last year as a team, Olsen finished with a career-high 84 receptions and 1,008 receiving yards. Jacksonville isn’t going to stop him just based on volume alone, making the veteran pass catcher a must start on Sunday.
Jacksonville Jaguars
In the cutthroat league that is the NFL, quarterback Blake Bortles has a lot to prove heading into his sophomore season. Finishing with just 11 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his rookie campaign means the Jaguars have a long way to go if they are to be more competitive this season. That said, he was the third overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft and had a strong preseason, so Bortles may surprise some people this year. He should be able to put up some points against a Panthers defense that really struggled last year and no longer has the services of Greg Hardy.
In order for Bortles to beat the Panthers on Sunday, wide receiver Allen Robinson will have to be a key part of the offense. Robinson has the size of a Dez Bryant to go along with incredible athleticism. With teammate Julius Thomas out to start the season, Robinson could see plenty of action in the red zone for the Jaguars, which might translate into touchdowns on Sunday.
