Both the Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers have stuff to work out prior to the start of the regular season in about two weeks. Their ability to work out some issues in-game will pretty much be limited to tonight, especially for the first team's.
Let's take a look at a few different things to look at tonight...
Carolina Panthers Running Game
With Jonathan Stewart possibly starting the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, it appears that DeAngelo Williams may get a real shot to be an every-down running back. Williams is averaging over five yards per touch over the past two seasons, but only got the ball at a 10-touch per game basis during that span. This needs to increase dramatically if the aging running back is going to be a decent redraft option.
Williams has 17 rush attempts in Carolina's first two preseason games, but is averaging just 2.9 yards per attempt during that span. This isn't going to get it done, and the Panthers could easily look in another direction if the need comes up. This is going to be an important game for Williams' fantasy value heading into the prime time of the draft season.
Baltimore Ravens Wide Receiver Situation
Not that he was going to make much of a fantasy impact, Baltimore sent reserve wide receiver David Reed packing to the Indianapolis Colts for Delone Carter on Wednesday. It does clear up the receiver situation with the Ravens a bit. Torrey Smith is the clear-cut starter, but nothing is really settled after that. Rookie Aaron Mellette has two catches (both for touchdowns) and 61 receiving yards in two games. He could act as a deep threat as a rookie.
Outside of that, Jacoby Jones has been hampered with injuries throughout the summer and has failed to make much of an impact in the preseason. He is slated to start opposite Smith, but doesn't really possess much more than late-round fantasy upside. Tandon Doss and Deonte Thompson, among others are also in the mix here. That being said, Smith offers the only real decent fantasy option for Baltimore's group of receivers.
Valuing the Starting Quarterbacks
Cam Newton finished as one of the top fantasy quarterbacks last season, but a lot of that had to do with stellar performances against weaker defenses. Check out my Pro Football Focus article on his value.
Advanced metrics suggest that you simply cannot rely on someone as inconsistent as Newton was last season to be a top-tier QB1 option, especially considering where his ADP currently is.
With that said, Newton provides upside that we rarely see from quarterbacks in fantasy football. His ability to score points through the air and on the ground is unmatched, even from what we saw from Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick last season. It'll be interesting to see how well he does tonight against a solid Baltimore Ravens defense.
On the other end of the spectrum, Joe Flacco's upside is limited. His ceiling, in terms of fantasy football, is as a marginal QB2 option. This is only magnified by the loss of Anquan Boldin in a trade with San Francisco and the injury to starting tight end Dennis Pitta. Further complicating issues is the injury to Ed Dickson and what might be a move towards a more run-based attack with Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce. We are going to want to see how Flacco connects with his young receivers in his most extended playing time of the preseason. Can he be a decent under-the-radar late-round QB1 option?