The Carolina Panthers hosted the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL Preseason. Unlike last year, the Panthers starters did actually see some live reps in the game, with the offense out there for two drives. Let’s take a closer look at how the players looked from a fantasy perspective.
Young only played two series in this game and looked pretty good while doing so. After knocking off some rust, he finished 4/6 for 58 yards with a touchdown. One of those incompletions was on a perfectly timed slant route that Tetairoa McMillan dropped in the endzone, so Bryce definitely seems ready to go. Obviously his actual fantasy points from this game are misleading since he only played a little under one quarter, but if we extrapolate his performance (ie multiply it by four because math is hard) he performed quite well netting around 25 fantasy points.
Chuba ran the ball three times for 10 yards, so it’s definitely tough to extrapolate his performance when he’ll likely see six or seven times the number of rushing attempts in an actual game. He was his normal Chuba self, running hard and punishing defenders who dared try to tackle him. He did get tripped up on his longest run of the night (which was six yards) as he burst through a hole. Had he kept his feet, he might have kept running all the way to the Hornets arena. Using our super complex mathematical algorithm of multiplying by four, Chuba would have ended the day with about four fantasy points.
With the team only running the ball 14 times in the entire game, neither starter got a mammoth amount of carries. Dowdle finished with three attempts for seven yards. He’s definitely a hard runner, but nothing really popped off the screen when he got the ball on the handoff. He did have a 20 yard reception on his only target, which was good to see. All told, Dowdle would have ended up with about 11 fantasy points on the day.
Anyone who doubted the Panthers taking McMillan eighth overall in April’s draft were put on notice in this game. McMillan made a beautiful sideline grab on a deep ball early in the game and was open for a touchdown pass that he unfortunately wasn’t ready for. One major adjustment for rookie wide receivers is their quarterbacks throwing with anticipation, and Bryce is one of the best in the business at that particular skill. As soon as T-Mac turned around, the ball hit him in the hands. He gave Bryce a thumbs up after the drop, showing a level of maturity to admit that he dropped a perfect touchdown pass. Despite the drop, McMillan still had two catches for 43 yards in his limited playing time. Had he played the whole game at that pace, he would have ended with about 17 fantasy points.
To paraphrase a famous musical doctor, it seems like a lot of people “forgot about J.” While his two catches for 17 yards and a touchdown statline isn’t jaw-dropping, you have to also keep in mind that he had an amazing one handed catch for over 30 yards that was negated by an offensive line facemask penalty. Add that one to his stats, and he’s looking incredible even in limited snaps. On his touchdown, he was actually open before Bryce found him, but he and his QB worked well to find an open spot in the scramble drill. Coke would be looking at about seven fantasy points at his official rate, but that 30 yard bomb would have definitely changed things.
Legette did not show up in the stat sheet for the Panthers in this game, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t rack up some unofficial stats. You’ve heard of QB Hits as a stat, well XL got three or four quality CB Hits in an early scuffle with a Browns player. Both players were ejected for the skirmish. This is not normally something Legette does, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it happening again anytime soon. I’m chalking this up to a whole week of joint practice jawing coming to a head on the first drive of the game. Still, Legette has to make better decisions. And obviously he had zero fantasy points.
The Panthers clearly made a concerted effort to get the ball into Horn’s hands in this game. While he did end the game with four catches, he only managed 15 yards. However, if you are in a PPR league, Horn might be someone to keep an eye on as a late season addition once injuries start hitting your roster. Had he continued this production through four quarters, he would have earned about six fantasy points (22 in a full PPR league).
While the Panthers defense has literally nowhere to go but up, many around the league are still bullish on their fantasy output potential. Rightfully so. Despite notching three sacks, six TFLs, three passes defended, and five QB hits, the unit gave up 30 points and didn’t force any turnovers. You’d likely be looking at a fantasy output of less than three in most leagues. The main fantasy issue for this defense is a common complaint about Ejiro Evero’s defensive scheme: they don’t turn the ball over. The Panthers had a couple chances to take the ball away, including a great read by Corey Thornton that was thwarted by the intended receiver. That’s still not good enough, though. The good fantasy defenses are the ones that make splash plays. This team will likely get more sacks this season, but time will tell about the turnover production.