Chuba Hubbard Week 5 Injury Opens Door for Rico Dowdle Breakout
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After being questionable all week due to a calf injury, the Carolina Panthers have now officially ruled out running back Chuba Hubbard for their Week 5 matchup when they host the Miami Dolphins. This is a tough loss for an offense that relies heavily on their starting running back. However, his absence should open up the door for other fantasy options to emerge against a terrible Dolphins' defense.
Fantasy Football Impact of Chuba Hubbard Injury
QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Young is already a high-volume passer who could see even more volume this week in a potential shootout with a great matchup. The absence of Hubbard could force the Panthers to lean more heavily on the pass in a season that has already seen Young throw the ball 144 times in four games, with a season high of 55 pass attempts. He will be going up against the worst secondary in football, and this could further boost his value as a potential streamer or DFS option in Week 5. Only the Dallas Cowboys have allowed more fantasy points to quarterbacks so far this season.
RB Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers
Dowdle has already had a role in this offense, carrying the ball 28 times so far this season and seeing goal-line work. With Hubbard out, we'd expect him to pick up most of Hubbard's RB1 carries, while maintaining his goal-line work. This propels him into the low-end RB2 range or a high-end flex option. This season, Miami has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to running backs. You can plug him into your lineups on Sunday if you need him. He lacks PPR value, but we'd expect him to see more than 15 carries in this matchup.
RB Trevor Etienne, Carolina Panthers
Etienne should get some run this week as the backup to Dowdle, and he could potentially slide into the passing-down role. However, while he projects as a potential solid passing-down option, we are projecting a bit because he's only seen one NFL target. We wouldn't advise starting the rookie this week, but he could hold some value as a desperation long-shot dart throw if you don't have any other options.
TE Tommy Tremble, Carolina Panthers
With both Hubbard and Ja'Tavion Sanders sidelined, Tremble could see a significant uptick in targets. Last week, he caught five of eight targets for 42 yards and a touchdown. Those targets could go up if they decide to use him as a dump-off option more with Hubbard out. He also has an outstanding matchup, because the Dolphins are allowing the third-most fantasy points to tight ends this season. We wouldn't be shocked if he snuck in to the top 12 and finished as a low-end TE1 this week.
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-0e06b43c57ceb063781f337e307e72d4.png "Mark Morales-Smith")
Mark Morales-Smith is a father of five, a former college football scout and semi-pro football player. Morales-Smith is a long-time competitive fantasy football player with well over a decade of professional writing experience at multiple high-level sites, including Sports Illustrated, FullTime Fantasy, FantasySP, and more.
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