The ageless Jonathan Stewart rushed for 65 yards on 18 carries in the Panthers Week 1 win over the 49ers. He even caught a pair of balls for 18 yards bringing his total to 82 yards and a rare receiving touchdown. Despite splitting time with talented rookie first round pick Christian McCaffrey, the veteran Stewart showed he will be relied on in the Red Zone and on early downs.
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 2: Jonathan Stewart
After a strong debut against the 49ers, here is why Stewart will keep up his solid production in Week 2.
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The amount of snaps and touches tell two different stories for the one-two punch of McCaffrey and Stewart. The rookie out-snapped Stewart 47 to 29 but Stewart had 20 overall touches compared to 18 from McCaffrey. When Stewart is in the game the Panthers are giving him the ball (20 touches in 29 snaps) while McCaffrey, who is very dangerous with the ball in his hands, is also a matchup nightmare that requires extra attention from defenses. They will want him on the field to help figure out what the defense is in and create favorable matchups for the entire offense.
Fantasy Impact: The Panthers steamrolled the 49ers and it was far from their best performance. Cam Newton and the rest of this offense will get better as the season progresses since he is still recovering from offseason should surgery. Stewart is going to be a major part of that, especially on the goal line, as Carolina will want to minimize as many hits as they can on Newton. They have another favorable matchup this week against the Buffalo Bills weak run defense. Look for Stewart to get fed consistently throughout the game with McCaffrey as the compliment similar to last week.
Recommendation: Start
