If Washington had a defense on the field Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, well, you could barely tell. And boy, did the fantasy owners of Cam Newton, Greg Olsen and Devin Funchess benefit.
For the third straight game Newton exceeded 20 fantasy points in ESPN standard leagues and went over 30 points for the second time in the past three weeks.
Newton is a locked-and-loaded QB1 right now and, with mostly favorable matchups down the stretch, is a player who should help carry more than a few folks to a fantasy championship if he keeps up his current pace. What’s even more dangerous is that Newton did almost all of his damage through the air on Sunday.
He’s an absolute must-start every single week.
So is Olsen. He now has eight or more fantasy points in five of the last six weeks and continues to be one of Newton’s most trusted targets. He’s a top-three option at tight end and has become particularly valuable in a down year for the position outside of the elite targets.
Funchess is a more interesting case, however. He was a non-factor for most of the season but now has posted 12 or more fantasy points in two of his last three games. Even more promising was that Newton looked for him with regularity on Sunday.
That makes Funchess an intriguing waiver pickup. While he’s never going to be the explosive presence in Carolina’s offense that Kelvin Benjamin was, his size (6’4″, 225 lbs) and leaping ability mean he can be a major factor in the red zone and could emerge as Newton’s top option out wide down the stretch. He certainly has the talent to be a larger factor in the offense, and the Panthers seem keen to keep him involved.
Funchess is worth a speculative add in all formats. He’s not worth starting yet, but absolutely stash him in the event he produces more consistently in the future.
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