Young, starters to get 10-20 snaps in preseason W1

Young declined to get into details about his knee injury after Thursday night’s loss to the Packers, saying, “Everyone’s dealing with something; it’s no excuse,” when speaking with the media after the game. Canales didn’t seem overly concerned about Young’s injury after the game, but did acknowledge that he didn’t appear to have the “quick, make you miss” aspect to his game against the Packers. Young was listed on the Panthers’ injury report throughout the week, but was also a full participant in practice. Young’s knee could be partly to blame for the six sacks he took in Thursday’s loss, and his health will be one to monitor in the weeks ahead, especially with the team already past its Week 5 bye. Assuming he’s good to go in Week 9, Young will face an uphill battle against a stout Broncos defense.

Hubbard was easily the most effective offensive player for the Panthers, but that’s at least partially an insult to everyone else as much as it was compliment to him. The tailback was able to make the most of the limited rushing room, and with Bryce Young having zero time to throw the football, he was a frequent target of Young’s checkdowns. Trevor Etienne received just one carry for one yard, meanwhile. Hubbard’s usage makes him a high-end RB2 for Week 9 against the Broncos, even if it’s more floor than ceiling.

Those who believe that sacks are a quarterback stat might change their mind watching the Panthers block Thursday night. The 25-year-old had no time to throw and couldn’t get out of the pocket while taking six sacks and being pressured on what seemed like every throw. That’s not to say that Young was completely a victim of his circumstance; he struggled with accuracy and couldn’t get the ball downfield in another ugly performance for the 25-year-old sans a 26-yard passing score to Jalen Coker in the middle of the fourth. Things won’t get any easier on paper in Week 9, as Young and the Panthers face the Broncos.

Young was listed with the same knee injury last Friday but remained a full participant and was good to go in Week 7. Whatever issue he’s dealing with appears minor, especially if the team is still listing him as a full participant. At this point, there’s no reason to think he won’t be active for Week 8’s game against the Packers on Thursday night.

With Bryce Young committing three turnovers — killing drives and setting up Bucs short fields that took the Panthers out of run-friendly game script — Hubbard had little shot at providing fantasy-friendly returns this afternoon unless he found the end zone late. He did not, with those honors going to “Anthony Tyus III” in garbage time. It was just one of those days in Charlotte. Thankfully the Panthers don’t have long to stew, as they must now get ready for a short-week Thursday evening road date with the Packers. With most Pack — and Panthers — games projecting as shootouts these days, Hubbard will remain safely ensconced in the high-end RB2 ranks.

With the Panthers somehow losing 43-6 in the fourth quarter, Young gave way to Kenny Pickett for the final 10:11. Pickett immediately engineered a garbage time touchdown drive. This was by far Young’s worst performance of what had so far been a legitimate breakout campaign, as he short-circuited one drive after another and set up Bucs short fields with turnovers. The fumble-six was the most costly mistake, but Young’s second interception was probably his worst throw. He was fooled by the coverage under pressure and threw the ball right to Tykee Smith. Young’s first pick came after Jalen Coker fell down. In between all the miscues, Young could get nothing going with either Coker or Tetairoa McMillan. It was hard to see this coming — especially against the Bucs — but it is even harder to see it continuing for Thursday’s short-week date with the Packers. With that contest likely to feature shootout game script, Young will remain in the low-end QB1 ranks.

It’s the first time we’ve seen Young o the injury report with this knee issue, though a full practice today is nothing to worry about. He will be good to go for his date with the Bucs. Young is currently the QB4 by fantasy points per game. Even if he does cool down this week, Young should be in most starting fantasy lineups.

It wasn’t easy for Hubbard, who didn’t have many runs over 10 yards, but he ran hard, broke tackles, and was able to find the end zone in the fourth quarter for a short touchdown run. Still, the Panthers did have some issues running the ball up the gut against the Eagles and continued to do it, rather than try to get Hubbard going on the edge. Trevor Etienne was the only other running back to have a carry in this game, and he had just one rush, so this backfield belongs entirely to Hubbard, which is tremendous for his fantasy value.

This game was never quite as easy as many thought it would be given Philadelphia’s injuries. Young looked pretty good, but he was often under pressure, and the Panthers continued to make things harder on themselves with 13 penalties for 149 yards. A few of those really killed the momentum on some Panthers drives. Still, Young made enough big throws and receivers were schemed open into space repeatedly throughout the day. We’d expect that to continue next week against a Bucs defense that might not be as talented as this Eagles one.

Hubbard’s successes on the ground allowed the Panthers to remain balanced on a night they were without two of their top three wide receivers due to the absences of Jalen Coker and Xavier Legette, cashing in on two scores from 15 and two yards out. Hubbard appears to be locked into an RB1 workload in the absence of Jonathan Brooks, who will be out for 6-8 weeks after undergoing core muscle surgery. His 26 opportunities dwarfed the six of current backup AJ Dillon, the latter of whom gained just seven total yards on six touches. Fantasy managers can start Hubbard with confidence when the team returns from their bye to face the Eagles in Week 6.