Under-the-radar Panthers RB among best fantasy football values in 2026

Ever since they traded Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers back in 2022, the Carolina Panthers have been pretty bereft when it comes to high-end fantasy football talent.

That started to change last year with the addition of wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who finished the 2025 campaign 14th in receiving yards (1,014). (They also briefly had a fantasy superstar in Rico Dowdle, who averaged 130.4 rushing yards per outing over his white-hot five-game stretch from Weeks 5 to 9.)

Looking ahead to the upcoming season, there’s not a whole lot of fantasy upside to be found on this roster outside of McMillan. According to NFL.com’s Matt Okada, however, third-year running back Jonathon Brooks could serve as an intriguing option.

Okada, who named Brooks as one of his best fantasy values of 2026, writes:

. . . his ADP sits at RB39. I get it: The risk is high.. But consider the upside. Brooks was drafted 46th overall by the Panthers back in 2024, and history has shown that top-50 running backs post at least one RB2 (or better) season more often than not. He drew comparisons to Jamaal Charles during the pre-draft process and was widely considered the top running back in the class . . .

. . . his ADP sits at RB39. I get it: The risk is high.. But consider the upside. Brooks was drafted 46th overall by the Panthers back in 2024, and history has shown that top-50 running backs post at least one RB2 (or better) season more often than not. He drew comparisons to Jamaal Charles during the pre-draft process and was widely considered the top running back in the class . . .

As Okada mentions, the Panthers don’t have a very productive offense overall—and for now, Brooks is still second on the depth chart at running back behind Chuba Hubbard. So, the odds are that Brooks will not wind up being a lead fantasy producer at his position.

But at an average draft position of an 11th-round pick, Brooks might be worth a small gamble. Either he won’t be worth a roster spot and will be easily discarded for a better waiver-wire pickup early in the season, or he could be one of the league’s biggest value picks if he can stay healthy and prove more explosive than Hubbard.

Either way, Brooks feels like a slick late-round add.

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