Cam Newton’s Fantasy Football Outlook With Injury Concerns Lingering

Getty Panthers QB Cam Newton.

Cam Newton is one of the more interesting fantasy football prospects in the NFL and is a quarterback who could make or break a team.

At 6-foot-5 and around 250 pounds with elite athleticism, Newton is unlike any talent the league has seen at the quarterback position. He can beat defenders with his big arm, or he can roll out of the pocket and truck a defender at the goal line for a touchdown.

Despite missing the final two games last season, Newton passed for 3,395 yards and had a 24-13 TD-INT ratio. He added 488 yards and four touchdowns with his legs, which was the second lowest total rushing in his eight-year career.

Most have Newton as a top 10 quarterback in fantasy thanks to the value he adds rushing, but here are some things to consider when looking at the Panthers QB and where he should be taken in drafts.


Cam Newton Fantasy Football Projections: Outlook & Preview

Curtis Samuel, Cam Newton

GettyCurtis Samuel and Cam Newton

Anyone who watched Newton last year knows he wasn’t at 100 percent at the end of the season. He could barely throw the ball more than 20 yards downfield and was compromised in a big way.

Newton had shoulder surgery in the offseason that the Panthers dubbed an “arthroscopic procedure” in the offseason.

“A lot of times you have to just get out of your own head,” Newton said. ”When you’re hurt for so long, you keep telling yourself, ‘Just do it. Just do it.'”

Newton has been working hard to get back to his old self, but did caution earlier this month that his rehab has been “a work in progress.”

“I don’t want people to just assume Cam’s back,” Newton cautioned. “I’m putting in a lot of work to get where I need to be. It’s a process.”

However, Brendan Marks of The Charlotte Observer called the “return of Cam Newton’s deep ball” the “biggest surprise of Panthers camp.


When to Draft Cam Newton in 2019 Fantasy Football

The Panthers lost Newton’s big target Devin Funchess to free agency this offseason and will roll out a crew of starting pass catchers that includes DJ Moore, Curtis Samuel, Chris Hogan and tight end Greg Olson. There is also, of course, Christian McCaffrey, who is projected to be among the top fantasy prospects thanks to his dual threat ability.

McCaffrey recorded 1,098 rushing yards, 867 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns last season, giving Newton an easy short-range target that can rack up yards. Andat 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, McCaffrey isn’t exactly a bruising goal line back that could take away goal line opportunities for Newton, who has 58 rushing touchdowns in his career.

Here’s what The Action Network projects for Newton this season:

  • Passing: 332 completions | 512 attempts | 64.8 comp % | 3,678 yards | 24.9 touchdowns | 14.2 interceptions
  • Rushing: 92 carries | 456 yards | 4.1 touchdowns

In a 12-team, point-per-reception league Cam Newton should be taken among the top 10 quarterbacks when the hurlers start coming off the board. However, there’s major upside with Newton — the 2015 NFL MVP — if he can stay healthy. If you’re bullish on Newton following the injury, feel free to pull the trigger on the Panthers dual-threat QB earlier, before a pure passer like Drew Brees. Start looking for Newton in rounds 8-10.

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