5 Fantasy Football Splits That Matter for Week 9

A Familiar Situation for Cam Newton

Among the numerous transactions that occurred prior to the league's trade deadline Tuesday was Kelvin Benjamin being shipped to the Buffalo Bills. It's a significant move if only because Benjamin accounted for 19.1% of targets and 25.5% of receiving yards for the Carolina Panthers this season.

Quarterback Cam Newton, however, has been in this exact situation before. Without Benjamin available throughout 2015, he averaged a career-high 8.3 rushing attempts per game en route to MVP honors. That was a season in which tight end Greg Olsen (25.3% target share that year) and wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. (19.7%) finished first and second on the team in target market share, respectively. Devin Funchess, a rookie then, also accounted for 12.6% of Newton's targets.

Ginn and Benjamin are now gone, though, and Olsen is still sidelined with an injury. Without the latter available in the last seven games, Funchess has averaged eight targets while running back Christian McCaffrey has led the team with seven red zone targets. Newton has also quietly averaged 9.2 carries over Carolina's last five contests.

This direct path to additional opportunity arguably makes Funchess a cash-game staple in daily fantasy football this week. The Atlanta Falcons, after all, rank 25th overall according to Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP. Just don't go overboard in ownership since this line has suspiciously swung three points in the Atlanta Falcons' (who were at one point +1.5 underdogs before moving to -1.5 favorites) favor.