Cam Newton, Greg Olsen, Jonathan Stewart's Post-Week 12 Fantasy Advice

The Carolina Panthers are an unstoppable machine this season on the field. They are starting to look that way in fantasy circles as well. 

While the defense receives much of the credit for the 11-0 start following Thursday’s 33-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, Katie Sharp of Sports Illustrated highlighted just how effective the offense (and fantasy players on that offense) has been in recent weeks:

Naturally, MVP candidate Cam Newton was behind another head-turning scoring output, although he received some help from Jonathan Stewart and Greg Olsen, among others. It also didn’t hurt that the dominant defense returned two Tony Romo interceptions for touchdowns to essentially put the game out of reach in the first half.

Here is a look at the final tallies from the offensive playmakers as well as some fantasy reaction for each.   

Completions	Passing Yards	Passing Touchdowns	Interceptions	Rushing Yards	Rushing Touchdowns	Fantasy Points
16-of-27	183	0	0	45	1	17.82

There are a handful of quarterbacks who can throw the ball at the NFL level, but Newton is such a dangerous fantasy weapon because of his rushing ability. NFL on ESPN put his production into perspective:

Newton demonstrated that rushing prowess again against the Cowboys, which was critical because he didn’t put up many numbers in the passing attack with his team well ahead throughout the game. The lack of dominant passing statistics is nothing to worry about moving forward because it was more a function of how the contest developed with Carolina in full control than any struggles from Newton.

The former Heisman Trophy winner topped 200 passing yards four straight times coming into Thursday’s game and even threw for five touchdowns the last time out against Washington. 

Given Newton’s potential in the passing and rushing attack, he is a must-start in fantasy circles every week.

Catches	Receiving Yards	Targets	Touchdowns	Fantasy Points
5	70	9	0	7

Kelvin Benjamin is out for the season, and Corey Brown missed Thursday’s game with a lingering shoulder injury. That leaves Olsen and a handful of relatively unproven pass-catchers when Newton drops back to throw, which is fantasy gold for those relying on the tight end.

Olsen is the most consistent weapon in the passing attack and leads the Panthers in receiving yards (788) and touchdown catches (six) and has the track record in place to trust every game. Thursday was the seventh straight contest that Olsen topped 50 receiving yards, and he counts two outings with more than 130 receiving yards on the season.

Olsen also appears primed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the second straight campaign, which is incredibly valuable for a tight end position that is not particularly deep across the league like wide receiver.

Carries	Rushing Yards	Catches	Receiving Yards	Total Touchdowns	Targets	Fantasy Points
21	68	3	9	0	4	7.7

The rejuvenation of Stewart at age 28 has been a welcome pattern for fantasy football owners this season, especially since he hasn’t rushed for 1,000 yards since 2009.

As mentioned in the Olsen section, the Panthers have dealt with a handful of wide receiver setbacks. As a response, they have looked to control games on the ground with the Newton and Stewart combination, and Thursday was the seventh straight game the Oregon product reached at least 60 rushing yards.

He also has two games over the century mark in that span as well. 

The only real concern for Stewart is his lack of production in the passing attack (25 receiving yards are his single-game high this year). As long as he keeps putting up consistent rushing totals alongside Newton, fantasy owners can look past the lack of catches and keep him in the lineup.