Fantasy Football Week 4 Waiver Wire: Panthers Chuba Hubbard next up as big-time FAAB temptation – CBS Sports

After Week 1, when Raheem Mostert (knee) was lost for the season, it looked like Elijah Mitchell could be a league-winning Fantasy running back. Fantasy managers went all-in on Mitchell, with some spending all of their FAAB budget, hoping he would be the best 49ers running back this year.

So far, that hasn’t been a great investment. Mitchell injured his shoulder in Week 2 and missed Week 3. He could return in Week 4, but now Trey Sermon might be San Francisco’s best running back. Or it could be Jeff Wilson (knee) when he’s able to play. Or JaMycal Hasty (ankle) when he’s healthy.

Mitchell might still be great, but we told you to use caution when spending big on him. And now we’re going to do the same when it comes to Chuba Hubbard.

The Panthers rookie is getting the chance to be the lead running back in Carolina after Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) was hurt Thursday night at Houston. There’s no doubt Hubbard should be the top priority off the waiver wire. And he’s worth a hefty amount of your FAAB if you need a running back.

But this is where you have to determine how much FAAB to spend on Hubbard relative to what you’re getting. The initial NFL Network report on McCaffrey said he would “miss a few weeks,” but Panthers coach Matt Rhule said McCaffrey is not headed to injured reserve. That would seemingly indicate he’s back within three weeks, which is the minimum length of time on IR.

CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reported that McCaffrey suffered less than a Grade 1 strain. As La Canfora reported, “a grade .50 as one source put it.” La Canfora also reported that “one source estimated it would be an absence of at least a couple of weeks.”

If we’re going on a two-week timeframe then that would give Hubbard starts at Dallas in Week 4 and vs. Philadelphia in Week 5. We expect Hubbard to get the majority of work, but he could also share touches with Royce Freeman.

After McCaffrey went down in Week 3 against the Texans, Hubbard logged 40 of 73 offensive snaps (55 percent), while Freeman got on the field for 11 plays (15 percent). Hubbard finished with 11 carries for 52 yards, along with three catches for 27 yards on five targets. Freeman had five carries for 17 yards, along with one catch for 8 yards on one target.

The Panthers could also sign another running back, and they worked out Duke Johnson already. That said, we expect Hubbard to be the main running back in Carolina until McCaffrey is healthy, and hopefully Hubbard delivers like Mike Davis did in 2020 when McCaffrey was out for 13 games. Davis appeared in 12 games with McCaffrey hurt, and he had six outings with at least 15 PPR points.

If my Fantasy team were 0-3 or 1-2 and needed a running back then I would spend at least 50 percent of my remaining FAAB. You don’t have much to lose at this point, and another loss could end your Fantasy season. Maybe Hubbard can save you.

Otherwise, if I have a winning Fantasy record and was just looking to speculate, I’d spend around 30 percent and just see if that gets it done. You don’t want to be in a position where you overpay for Hubbard, and then he ends up being like Mitchell.

Ideally, McCaffrey is back soon and dominating again. But we know soft-tissue injuries like hamstring strains can linger, and then Hubbard could be an extremely valuable Fantasy asset for the rest of the season. It’s a gamble to spend big on Hubbard if McCaffrey returns soon, but Hubbard might be worth it if McCaffrey misses a significant amount of time.

You also should put a small bid in for Freeman (under 10 percent) just in case the veteran has a bigger role than anticipated. We don’t expect the Panthers to favor Freeman over Hubbard, but it’s possible that could be the case.

Editor’s note: For this waiver wire column, we are only looking at players rostered in less than 65 percent of CBS Sports leagues.

Week 4 Waivers

• Injuries: Justin Herbert (hand), Justin Fields (hand), Tua Tagovailoa (ribs), Ryan Fitzpatrick (hip), Tyrod Taylor (hamstring) and Andy Dalton (knee)
• Check to see if available: Kirk Cousins (82 percent rostered). Cousins has been a star with at least 26 Fantasy points in each game this season. He should continue to play at a high level, and he’s worth trusting as a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues in Week 4 against Cleveland — and beyond.
• Drop candidates: Trevor Lawrence (77 percent rostered), Baker Mayfield (66 percent) and Trey Lance (55 percent). Lawrence has struggled so far through three starts, and there’s little reason to stash him in one-quarterback leagues. … Mayfield doesn’t have much upside as a Fantasy quarterback right now and has scored fewer than 20 Fantasy points in all three games. … Lance is not worth holding in one-quarterback seasonal leagues while he’s playing behind Jimmy Garoppolo.

Add in this order:

• Injuries: Christian McCaffrey (hamstring), Dalvin Cook (ankle), Josh Jacobs (toe), Darrell Henderson (ribs), Elijah Mitchell (shoulder), James White (hip), Giovani Bernard (knee), Tevin Coleman (illness), JaMycal Hasty (ankle) and Rashaad Penny (calf)

• Check to see if available: James Conner (82 percent rostered), Alexander Mattison (81 percent), Nyheim Hines (74 percent), Zack Moss (71 percent) and Cordarrelle Patterson (68 percent). Mattison is a must-start option until Cook returns, and Moss might now be the lead back in Buffalo. Both are must adds across the board. … Don’t chase Conner’s two touchdowns from Week 3, but he would be a must-start option if Chase Edmonds missed any time. … Hines is going to have a roller coaster season all year, but he should be rostered in all PPR leagues. … Patterson has 14 targets, 11 catches, 140 yards and a touchdown in his past two games. At running back or receiver, that’s quality production in PPR.
• Drop candidates: James White (84 percent rostered), Mark Ingram (81 percent) and Ronald Jones (77 percent). White isn’t worth holding unless you have an IR spot because that’s likely where he’s headed. … Ingram has combined for eight PPR points in his past two games after scoring 14 PPR points in Week 1. The committee in Houston is bad for all three running backs with David Johnson and Phillip Lindsay, and none of them should be rostered in most leagues. … Jones might benefit if Bernard is out, but so far he’s scored a combined three PPR points on the season and has one catch.

• Injuries: A.J. Brown (hamstring), JuJu Smith-Schuster (ribs), Tee Higgins (shoulder), Diontae Johnson (knee), Antonio Brown (illness), Sterling Shepard (hamstring), Jerry Jeudy (ankle), Jarvis Landry (knee), Michael Gallup (calf), Curtis Samuel (groin), Elijah Moore (concussion), Jamison Crowder (groin), T.Y. Hilton (neck), Russell Gage (ankle), Darius Slayton (hamstring), Tyrell Williams (concussion), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (hamstring) and K.J. Hamler (knee).
• Check to see if available: Michael Pittman (82 percent rostered), Henry Ruggs III (78 percent) and Christian Kirk (77 percent). Pittman has 24 targets in his past two games for 14 catches and 191 yards. He has a tough matchup in Week 4 at Miami, but he’s the No. 1 receiver in Indianapolis until Hilton is back. … Ruggs is looking better each week and has 14 targets, nine catches, 191 yards and a touchdown in his past two games. He’s on the verge of a breakout. … Kirk has scored at least 17 PPR points in two of three games and isn’t going away despite the additions of A.J. Green and Rondale Moore. He should be added in all leagues and might be a viable No. 3 Fantasy receiver on a weekly basis.
• Drop candidates: Jarvis Landry (73 percent rostered), Laviska Shenault (68 percent), Darnell Mooney (62 percent) and DeVante Parker (55 percent). Landry is only worth stashing if you have an IR spot. … Shenault has been at 50 receiving yards or less in all three games, and his targets have been in steady decline. The addition of Dan Arnold will likely make things worse for Shenault as well. … Allen Robinson is worth holding until the Bears figure out their offense. Mooney is not right now. Hopefully, better days are ahead. … The Dolphins receiving corps is too crowded for Parker, especially with Tagovailoa out, and he has nine catches for 84 yards in his past two games, with no touchdowns on the year.

• Injuries: George Kittle (calf), Rob Gronkowski (ribs) and Anthony Firkser (knee).
• Check to see if available: Tyler Higbee (83 percent rostered) and Mike Gesicki (67 percent). Higbee has at least 11 PPR points in two of three games this year, and he should be used as a low-end starting tight end in all leagues. … Gesicki might be a go-to guy for Brissett after his performance in Week 3 at Las Vegas with 10 catches for 86 yards on 12 targets. Gesicki is worth adding again if you dropped him last week.
• Drop candidates: Jonnu Smith (67 percent). Smith is being outplayed by Hunter Henry, and Smith just had one catch for 4 yards on six targets in Week 3 against New Orleans. He also bobbled a pass from Mac Jones that led to a pick-six. Smith has limited upside right now in most Fantasy leagues.

• Bengals (4 percent rostered) vs. JAC

  Packers (27 percent rostered) vs. PIT

  Dolphins (41 percent rostered) vs. IND

  Titans (17 percent rostered) at NYJ

  Bears (31 percent rostered) vs. DET

• Randy Bullock (4 percent rostered) at NYJ

  Greg Joseph (18 percent rostered) vs. CLE

  Chase McLaughlin (5 percent rostered) at MIN

  Evan McPherson (14 percent) vs. JAC

So who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 4 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that has out-performed experts big-time.