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According to reports, All Pro RB Christian McCaffrey has been traded to the San Francisco 49ers. In return, Carolina Panthers will receive a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft as well as a 5th round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. This comes on the heels of Carolina trading WR Robbie Anderson to the Arizona Cardinals earlier in the week and firing their head coach last week.
Fantasy Impact
The Carolina Panthers tank job is in full effect after shipping CMC. This leaves behind Chuba Hubbard and D'Onta Foreman as the remaining top 2 RBs on the depth chart. Both are worth a waiver add, but with a slight lean towards Chuba Hubbard as he is the younger of the two and more likely to play a long-term role with the team beyond this season, so it makes sense that they want to see what they have in him. I would treat them both as RB3/Flex plays until one of them separates from the other. McCaffrey had a 32.8% target share on the season, so him leaving will open up catches for the rest of the team. Expect a boost in targets for D.J. Moore (until he is eventually shipped), Terrace Marshall, whoever they trot out at TE, and of course Hubbard and Foreman.
The 49ers backfield becomes easier to predict moving forward after acquiring McCaffrey. CMC will obviously be the lead RB once he becomes acclimated, with Jeff Wilson Jr. being the primary backup until Elijah Mitchell is healthy. Tyrion Davis-Price, Tevin Coleman, and anyone else who was being rostered should be promoted to the waiver wire at this point. This also probably puts an end to Deebo Samuel getting carries which hurts his fantasy floor slightly. Jimmy Garoppolo gets a slight boost as he receives an elite pass catcher. Overall, CMC remains a top 3 fantasy RB rest of season.
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