Head coach Frank Reich has announced that a star player is sidelined with an injury.
If you’re a fantasy manager with Carolina Panthers running back Miles Sanders on your roster, it might be a good idea to see if Chuba Hubbard is available on the waiver wire.
Head coach Frank Reich announced Hubbard will get the bulk of the carries on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins with Sanders unable to play due to a shoulder injury.
There haven’t been many reliable fantasy options on the Panthers roster so far this season, but Hubbard could be a standout performer with an increased workload.
The 24-year-old has been more productive on a per-snap basis than Sanders. He has 154 rushing yards and 57 receiving yards on 47 touches through five weeks.
By comparison, Sanders has 190 rushing yards and 81 receiving yards on 76 touches. His 3.1 rushing yards per attempt is on pace to be, by far, the fewest of his career. He never averaged fewer than 4.6 yards per carry in a season during his four years with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Carolina has a lot of problems on both sides of the ball right now. The offense and defense rank in the bottom 10 in points allowed per game. The defensive issues put more pressure on Bryce Young and the passing attack, but they don’t have many explosive playmakers on the outside who can help the rookie quarterback.
Hubbard’s success can ease a lot of the burden on Young if the Panthers can get anything going on the ground. This is probably a bad week to hope for a turnaround because they are playing a Dolphins team that is averaging 513.6 yards and 36.2 points per game.
Unless the Panthers can find a way to slow down Miami’s high-octane offense, they will have to throw the ball a lot in an attempt to keep up. Hubbard might find his way into some fantasy success if Young targets him as a receiver.
