The Carolina Panthers trade that sent star running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers shocked the NFL world. Everyone is excited to see how the 49ers dynamic offense looks with McCaffrey now onboard, but for the Panthers, they are going to have to figure out how to get by without McCaffrey. It looks like D'Onta Foreman will be the first guy to get a crack at replacing the star running back now that he's gone.

McCaffrey had been the clear cut top running back for Carolina prior to this trade, but the guy with the second most carries on the team was Foreman. Foreman spent time filling in for Derrick Henry with the Tennessee Titans last season, and he has shown potential to be a solid running back when he gets carries.

For fantasy football owners, this is the perfect time to potentially add a starting caliber running back to their rosters midway through the season. But can Foreman be counted on as a reliable fantasy option moving forward? Let's take a look at Foreman's fantasy football outlook now that McCaffrey has been moved out west to San Francisco.

D'Onta Foreman's fantasy football outlook

Foreman was picked up by the Panthers in free agency as protection in the event something were to happen to McCaffrey. After all, McCaffrey had only played in 10 games combined over the past two seasons, so it was a worthwhile investment. While McCaffrey suited up for the first six games of the season, he's no longer on the team, so it looks like Foreman will have a lot more touches coming his way moving forward.

Foreman proved last season that he can hold his own when he gets playing time. He had three games where he rushed for over 100 yards last season, and averaged a solid 4.3 yards per carry. If Foreman can accrue the same sort of volume with the Panthers, he could become a very strong option at running back.

The problem is that Foreman may not end up getting all the carries in the Panthers backfield. He should get the majority of them, but Chuba Hubbard, who filled in for McCaffrey last season, also looms as a guy who could take carries away from Foreman. Neither guy has done much of anything with McCaffrey holding down the fort, but that will change in the blink of an eye.

D'Onta Foreman will likely get the start for Carolina in Week 7, but if he struggles and Hubbard plays well, head coach Steve Wilks likely won't have a problem giving Hubbard more playing time than Foreman. Until he proves he's going to get the majority of the carries, Foreman is going to be a big risk for fantasy owners.

It's also worth noting that the Panthers offense is pretty horrible. McCaffrey had really been their only source of production early on this season, and that leaves a huge hole on the offense moving forward. Carolina also traded Robbie Anderson earlier this week, and is down to their third-string quarterback in PJ Walker with both Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold out for the time being.

Even if Foreman gets the ball a lot, how much room will there be for him to work with? The passing game only picked up 119 yards against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6, which isn't exactly going to take the pressure off the ground game. It's also worth noting that McCaffrey accounted for most of that production by picking up 89 of those receiving yards on his own. To say things are looking dire for the Panthers right now would be an understatement.

Someone is going to have to get the ball for the Panthers on offense right now, but that doesn't mean they will be productive. There's a chance D.J. Moore could help the passing game get going, but other than that, there are no real playmakers on Carolina's roster. That's going to make it tough for the running game to find room if opposing defenses dare the Panthers to throw the ball.

Foreman succeeded last season in a Titans offense that was designed to run the football. The Panthers offense is not built the same way, unfortunately. Combine that with the fact that he might be splitting carries with Hubbard behind him, and Foreman's fantasy outlook doesn't look very encouraging.

There's a chance he can help Carolina's ground game stay alive, but for now, Foreman doesn't seem like a safe fantasy football option. Picking him on the waiver wire is a smart decision in case he breaks out, but counting on that breakout to actually come to fruition doesn't seem wise. Until he proves he can be counted on, D'Onta Foreman is nothing more than a guy you should stash on your bench in hopes he can break out in a bigger role with the Panthers.