Ranking NFL Offenses: Carolina Panthers No. 29

The Carolina Panthers enter 2025 with cautious optimism after Bryce Young’s late-season surge offered a glimpse of his long-awaited potential. With rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan and workhorse back Chuba Hubbard leading the way, Carolina’s fantasy outlook remains limited but not without upside.

Carolina Panthers Starting Offense:

QB Bryce Young

RB Chuba Hubbard

RB2 Rico Dowdle

WR1 Tetairoa McMillan

WR2 Xavier Legette

WR3 Adam Thielen

TE Ja’Tavion Sanders

WR4 Jalen Coker

Carolina Panthers Fantasy Football Outlook:

Despite early-season struggles and a few missed games, Bryce Young seemed to find some rhythm late in the year, finishing as the QB20. Young was benched after failing to throw a single touchdown pass in his first two games of the season. However, he responded decently in his Week 8 return, tossing two touchdowns (as well as two interceptions) on his way to 13.6 fantasy points. Nothing to write home about but at least it showed progression.

From Week 9 to Week 15, Young looked like a game-managing average quarterback at best, failing to produce double-digit passing touchdowns a single time. However, Young flourished late in the season and became a difference-maker in the fantasy football postseason. He tossed eight touchdowns and zero interceptions, while adding three more rushing touchdowns from Week 16 to Week 18. Perhaps the Panthers figured something out and have a quarterback to be excited about for the first time since Cam Newton. Entering the 2025 campaign, Young should be considered a QB2 and can have streamer appeal in certain matchups.

Carolina’s most electric weapon in 2024 was surprisingly Chuba Hubbard. He finished the season as the RB15 despite missing two games. Hubbard was utilized as a workhorse, totaling 1,195 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 250 carries. He also caught 43 passes for 171 receiving yards and one additional score. Despite the addition of Rico Dowdle via free agency, Hubbard should be viewed as an RB2 entering the 2025 season.

Speaking of Dowdle, he was no slouch himself as the Dallas workhorse in 2024, finishing as the RB23. Dowdle eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career (235 carries, 1,079 rushing yards, two touchdowns). His touchdown output is concerning to say the least and that likely won’t change in 2025 with Hubbard serving as the goal-line back. Dowdle may have some Flex appeal in certain matchups but should be viewed as an RB4 and solid handcuff should Hubbard suffer an injury.

Players with the most Goal Line rushes in the 2024 season ⤵️

Josh Jacobs: 22
Chuba Hubbard: 21
Kyren Williams: 20
Derrick Henry: 20
Jalen Hurts: 19
Jonathan Taylor: 18 pic.twitter.com/PhxxxuC6Pu
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) April 7, 2025

Carolina’s pass catchers were atrocious last season and despite needing to address the defense, the Panthers added an electric playmaker to Young’s arsenal of weapons with the No. 8 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan will step in as the immediate WR1 in this offense. A physically imposing wideout with elite contested-catch skills and an expansive catch radius, McMillan has the potential to put up big numbers in his rookie season. Though highly productive at the collegiate level, his refinement as a vertical threat remains a work in progress.

Entering a receiver room that includes Xavier Legette, Adam Thielen, and Jalen Coker, McMillan possesses the highest upside of the group and is well-positioned to ascend the depth chart swiftly. However, the crowded nature of the Panthers’ receiving unit could cap his target volume in Year 1. In redraft formats, he offers WR3 value with the potential for more, contingent on his rapport with Young. McMillan is my WR25 at this point in the offseason. Dynasty managers should view him as a WR2 with legitimate WR1 upside, particularly if Carolina’s offense takes a step forward.

Bryce Young to Tetairoa McMillan is the new Carolina connection 🔥@TMAC96795 | @_bryce_young | @panthers pic.twitter.com/Pq5iUF2ONW
— NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2025

Despite McMillan’s presence, Carolina boasts arguably the worst wide receiver room in the NFL. Xavier Legette and Adam Thielen won’t even crack the top 60 receivers in fantasy football and should be viewed as WR6 options. Even without McMillan, Thielen finished as the WR52 while Legette finished as the WR60 in PPR formats. Thielen is always an injury concern and although Legette may progress in his second season and could be the beneficiary of garbage time production, I don’t anticipate a ton of progress.

Meanwhile, in the tight end room, Ja’Tavion Sanders is a complete shot in the dark who won’t have any relevancy in redraft formats. He’s hovering around the TE30 in redraft formats at this point in the offseason and it’s hard to envision anything changing that. Sanders finished as the TE35 in 2024, posting 33 receptions, 342 receiving yards, and one touchdown. If Sanders can earn more red-zone looks, he could become a touchdown-dependent streaming option, but there’s not much upside there.

The Panthers need Bryce Young to perform as he did in the last three weeks of the season if they want to compete in the NFC South and support multiple fantasy football starters. Outside of Chuba Hubbard and Tet McMillan, there’s not much to be excited about as they rank as the fourth-worst fantasy football offense heading into 2025.

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