2014 Review

It was frustrating to watch the Carolina Panthers last season. You clearly saw they had a franchise quarterback in Cam Newton, but he was constantly under pressure last season, thanks to a woeful offensive line.

When Newton was able to stand upright, he had rookie Kelvin Benjamin to lean on heavily, demonstrated by his 146 targets last season. Benjamin became a great target in the red zone and someone who Newton could lob balls up to and have confidence that Benjamin would come down with it. Benjamin's rookie season as a high-volume No.1 receiver saw him finish with 73 receptions for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns. 

When Benjamin wasn't an option, Newton always had his security blanket tight end Greg Olsen, who finished with 84 receptions, 1,008 yards and six touchdowns on 122 targets. Newton essentially had two targets and a watered down piece of papier mâché serving as his offensive line.

At running back, the DeAngelo Williams finished his eight-year Panthers' tenure with a dud, playing in just six games and totaling 62 carries for 219 yards and no touchdowns. With Williams out of the picture, Jonathan Stewart had more carries this past season (175) than total touches combined in the past two seasons (165). His hot finish to the season left many optimistic about what he can do in 2015.

Veteran Additions

Ted Ginn, Wide Receiver

Oh how fun reunions can be. You go away for a fresh start and things don't go well in your new city, so you go back to where it all worked. That's what Ginn is hoping for in his return to Carolina, reuniting with the team where he had a career year in 2013. 

Ginn will compete to return kicks and be a situational deep threat in training camp, but he will face some tough competition from Philly Brown, who was with Newton last season. At best, Ginn will be the Panthers' fourth option last season and will be battling for snaps with Brown. There just isn't any fantasy value that makes Ginn worth owning in any league.

NFL Draft

Devin Funchess, Wide Receiver

While Carolina did little to fix its offensive line in the draft, GM Dave Gettleman made sure to supply Newton with more help at wide receiver. After drafting Benjamin in the first round last year, the Panthers added Funchess, who is actually pretty similar to Benjamin. Throughout rookie camp and OTA's, the Panthers have been moving Funchess around as the X, Z and slot receiver. 

The slot is the most intriguing place for Funchess, especially given his size at 6'4" and his ability to create separation, despite still being a work in progress as a route runner. His role this season for the Panthers will very likely be as a utility receiver, rotation around the field and finding the right matchups.  He will be the third option for Newton, but should have a respectable rookie season.

Potential Breakout Star

Cameron Artis-Payne

The potential breakout star and disappointment are connected. While there are plenty of high-profile sleepers out there who everyone labels as a breakout candidate, sometimes you have to look a little deeper. There is some risk with Artis-Payne, he is an unproven rookie who is third on the depth chart. But as ESPN's Panthers reporter David Newton shared his belief that if Stewart gets hurt, Artis-Payne will step in as the every-down back.

This is what makes Artis-Payne a potential breakout candidate. Even though he's a sixth-round pick, the Panthers like what he has to offer if needed in an every-down role. Obviously the Panthers' offensive line is not ideal, in fact it's dreadful. But we are talking about a situation where an injury-prone Stewart is projected to see a career-high in carries, history and common knowledge tells you he will likely get hurt again. If he misses significant time, Artis-Payne could be one of the biggest free agent pickups of the season and a fantasy breakout player.

Potential Disappointment

Jonathan Stewart, Running Back

The hype surrounding Stewart this season is dangerous. For years he has been the tantalizing fantasy back who had the potential to be a top-10 running back. In his first four seasons in the NFL, Stewart combined for 3,500 rushing yards on 725 carries, an impressive 4.83 yards per carry. During that time, he surpassed 190 carries just once with 221 in 2009. Over the next two seasons, Stewart was riddled with injuries, totaling just 141 carries for 516 yards in 15 games.

DeAngelo Williams was limited to six games, allowing Stewart to step into a more prominent role. He played in 13 games, finishing with 809 rushing yards on 175 carries. When Stewart was given the full reigns to the starting job, he thrived and looked like his former, healthy self. The Panthers let Williams leave in free agency, something many fantasy owners wished would have been done years ago.

The problem is because of the desperation for fantasy owners to find a new top-10 running back, it leads to looking past flaws. There are some great positives to look at – Stewart is still in the midst of his prime as the ideal power, one-cut back who can run through a safety just as easily as he could make a linebacker miss. He is going to be the featured back of this offense and he can help in the receiving game.

But the negatives are alarming and come from two very concerning aspects. First is Stewart's health, he hasn't played in more than 14 games since 2011 and has missed 20 games in the past three seasons. Now he is going to take on a full workload, looking at 250-plus carries and another 25-plus receptions.

To expect him to stay healthy with a larger workload is stretching it. But even if he doesn't, the Panthers' have a horrid offensive line. It may even worse in run-blocking this year with the addition of Michael Oher. There's a chance Stewart has a big season, but he is also the biggest risk on the team.