Cam Newton

Week 8 at Buffalo Bills
For as good as the Cam Newton experience began in New England, the last few weeks have been rough. Newton has played poorly ever since returning from his COVID-19 diagnosis. In his last two games, Newton has only thrown for a total of 255 yards with no touchdowns and a miserable five interceptions. In stark contrast to the start of the year when Newton was essentially the Patriots' goal-line back, he has only recorded one rushing touchdown in those two games. It is becoming increasingly clear that Newton's fantasy production will depend primarily on his rushing production in 2020. He should still get plenty of opportunity to put up numbers on the ground, but this fact makes him much more volatile for fantasy than initially expected and makes him a low-end QB1 with plenty of risk for disappointing performances moving forward.

Week 6 vs. Denver Broncos
Cam Newton was cleared to practice on Thursday so it certainly looks like he will return as the Patriots' starting quarterback against Denver in Week 6. Newton's return instantly upgrades the fantasy prospects of just about everyone associated with the New England offense. The Broncos are a bit of a pass-funnel defense as they are good at stopping the run, which is what New England does best on offense. Newton may have to pass more than the Patriots would like in this one, but he still profiles as a strong QB1 as he can put up numbers through the air when called upon and still has unique rushing upside at the quarterback position. Get Newton back into starting lineups for Week 6 and his presence should be highly beneficial to the entire offense's production.

Week 3 vs. Las Vegas Raiders
It only took two weeks for Cam Newton to re-establish himself as a premier QB1 in fantasy football. Newton's robust rushing workload (26 carries in two games) gives him a very high floor and New England appears intent on giving him plenty of goal line looks this season. Even more promising is Newton's performance as a passer. Newton showed no lingering effects of his bad shoulder on Sunday against Seattle where he racked up nearly 400 yards passing on 44 attempts. Now the Patriots get to host a soft Las Vegas secondary that gave up 30 points to Carolina in Week 1 and 300 yards to Drew Brees in Week 2. Newton will always be startable just based on his rushing upside, but he has blowup potential again in Week 3. Start him with confidence as a QB1.