It’s first versus worst in the NFC South, as Bryce Young looks to further his case for Most Improved Player against a Bucs team in desperate need of a win streak just to keep any playoff hopes alive …
Panthers (3-2) vs. Buccaneers (1-5) Matchup Breakdown For Week 7 Fantasy Football
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fantasy Preview For Week 7
The first thing that came to mind watching the 1-5 Bucs and Jalon Daniels’ tape back was not to judge this book by its cover too quickly. Installing a rookie mid-stream, especially a UDFA, was never going to be an easy task. Now Baker Mayfield’s set to return this week, but the straight-ahead way he plays makes me think it’s not the last time we see Daniels in 2026. Regarding expectations for Mayfield this weekend, I’d feel better had he put even a single QB1 game on tape, but let’s be honest, it’s been a rough go, to say the least (-0.26 EPA/dropback, 16.7% off-target, 27.1% first-down rate, 11.9% sack). There’s always a theoretical fantasy ceiling anytime the turnover-prone Mayfield’s under center — I’d just rather see it first before facing a Panthers’ D averaging 20 pressures/game over the last three weeks.
Emeka Egbuka managers should feel enthused regardless; he’s jumping back up weekly ranks as Mayfield’s first option (6.7 targets/game, 19.2% target/route, 1.36 yards/route, 88.0 air yards/game). Chris Godwin’s spot remains unchanged underneath, while the once-robust Ted Hurst role likely remains split down the middle with Tez Johnson. So I guess all that’s to say, even reinstalling their starting QB is much ado about nothing … for now. If Baker balls out, we can all fight for the scraps …
Ah, the Tampa Bay backfield, my weekly reminder of just how spectacularly wrong I was on Kenneth Gainwell. Assuming Tampa brought in the receiving specialist to eat up pass-game work on a bad team seemed like a good idea at the time. It was not. Nevertheless, the Bucky Irving show rolls on — he’s commanding 74% of backfield opportunities (18.8 touches/game), with an 11.2% team target share, plus most of the backfield work, since Sean Tucker’s struggling to stay healthy. One of the easiest non-first-round automatic RB plays in fantasy.
Start: Bucky Irving (RB12), Emeka Egbuka (WR21)Sit: Baker Mayfield (QB15), Cade Otton (TE19)Sleeper: Chris Godwin (WR42)
Carolina Panthers Fantasy Preview For Week 7
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