Jonathan Stewart

                         RUSHING                            RECEIVING                            FANTASY

(+) Jonathan Stewart was a first-round pick in 2008 due to a crazy mix of size (5’10”, 235 pounds) and speed (4.38 forty)

(+) Scored double-digit touchdowns in his first two years with the Panthers, showing he indeed has some high upside to his fantasy game

(+) Last season, Stewart made huge strides in the passing game significantly increasing his reception total to 47 catches for 413 yards (34 catches for 289 yards in the three previous years combined)

(+) Had a tremendous yards per carry average last season at 5.4 YPC

(+) The Panthers have one of the easier schedules against the run again this season

(+) He’s still only 25-years-old

(+) CONTRACT YEAR!

(–) Was one of the more up-and-down running backs in the league last season

(–) Scored just five total TDs in 2011 (4 rushing, 1 receiving) with the touchdown-vulture that is Cam Newton under center

(–) With Carolina giving DeAngelo Williams a huge contract last year, Stewart’s playing time may fall even further if the team’s brass decide to fully commit to Williams

(–) Had the least amount of attempts in his four-year career last season and now the Panthers brought in yet ANOTHER RB (Mike Tolbert) to potentially steal his carries

Give Jonathan Stewart just one full season as a full-time starter and there’s no doubt what you’d see emerge is a Top-5 fantasy RB for years to come.  In the three games DeAngelo Williams missed in 2009, Stewart averaged 23.3 carries/game, and with those carries, Johnny put up 150.3 yards/game, one TD/game, and an average of 21.8 fantasy points per game.  Multiply that out over a full 16-game season and you’re looking at some absolutely mind-boggling numbers.  However, the reality of the situation is that the Panthers use both Stewart and Williams as a platoon, and even though both came out of 2009 with close to fantasy starter numbers, neither will crack the Top-5 like they would if they were used on a full-time basis.

~ Set career bests in yards (1,133), attempts (221), total touchdowns (11), yards/attempt (5.1), yards/game (70.8), receptions (18), receiving yards (139), and total yards from scrimmage (1,272)

The only way it would be possible for Stewart to equal or surpass the numbers he put up in 2009 would be if DeAngelo Williams were to get injured again for at least 3-4 games.  Stewart has all the potential and skill in the world to put together a Top-5 RB fantasy season, but the Panthers are gung ho on keeping their two stud running backs fresh throughout the year, thus diminishing those chances immensely.  The scary upside he possesses is definitely worth taking a shot on him, because even within an RBBC, close to 1,000 yards and 10 TDs are certainly within reach.  Those numbers, however, would make Stewart no more than a middle to low-end RB2 for your team in 2010.

~ DeAngelo Williams AND the Panthers are both very happy to keep the RBBC going in 2010

~ Carolina’s offensive line is awesome and will continue to open holes for both backs

~ No more Jake Delhomme may mean no more 8-in-the-box against them

Jonathan Stewart (@JonathanStewar1) can be followed on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/Jonathanstewar1

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RBs drafted in the 2008 NFL Draft

Stewart signed a five-year, rookie contract worth $14 million.  The deal included $10.795 million guaranteed and another $6 million available through incentives.  The remaining portion is outlined below:

2010 - $1.265 million

2011 - $1.31 million

2012 - $1,311,250

2013 - Free Agent

Since Stewart is actually a draftable player all on his own, should he or DeAngelo get hurt, the handcuff here could possibly be second-year guy Mike Goodson

• Offensive Line


• Offensive Scheme


• Major Off-Season Moves


• 2010 NFL Draft

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