Jonathan Stewart (RB, CAR) - Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: Well, this a nice resurgence.  Had it not been for Jonathan Stewart's strong play in Week 8, the Panthers may have had the opportunity to fail miserably in the red-zone against the Seahawks.  He rushed for 79 yards on 16 carries and hauled in 3 catches.  Stewart was breaking tackles and making defenders miss like his rookie year.  He clearly lost some of the explosiveness that made him an elite prospect, but he’s showed the past 2 weeks that he can be an effective runner when healthy.

With Carolina’s offense looking better the past few weeks (outside of the red zone), Stewart becomes an interesting waiver wire pickup for this Thursday against the leaky Saints run defense. DeAngelo Williams is expected to return for Week 9, which takes away some potential value for Stewart. Either way, Williams hasn't been very effective with his opportunities for some time now, and Stewart is still a solid waiver wire pickup and stash if you're hurting at the running back position. I’d take a flyer on him as a bench stash or roster depth with flex upside if you have the option, as Carolina should come out to play in a big division matchup.