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Do you think the Panthers wanted DeAngelo Williams back in the worst way? It would certainly appear that way after they handed him a five-year, $43 million deal -- with more than $20 million guaranteed -- to keep him in the fold.

It's a move that has significant impact on the Fantasy Football values of both teammates and others. ... I'll examine the impact here, but I'll also note that keeping Williams wasn't the only move the Panthers made that will create Fantasy-relevant ripples.

In addition to announcing that Steve Smith will remain with the team, the Panthers also traded for former Bears tight end Greg Olsen and handed former Seahawks place-kicker Olindo Mare to a four-year, $12 million deal.

But let's start with Williams. ... As the Sports Xchange pointed out, Carolina had ample insurance at running back with former first-round pick Jonathan Stewart and a stable of backs that includes Mike Goodson, who finished strong last season, and Tyrell Sutton.

But Williams has been an elite running back and the 1-2 punch of Williams-Stewart is a meaningful crutch for the team's young quarterbacks.

Williams has speed but he's also a tough inside runner. He compiled 361 rushing yards in six games last season before he was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury. Williams rushed for 1,117 yards on 216 carries in 2009 and had a career-best 1,515 yards on 273 carries in '08.

At 28, Williams would seemingly have plenty of tread left on his tires. Sharing the load with Stewart, it's plausible that he would remain productive into this early 30s, the time when most running backs experience a deep deterioration of skills.

So who gets hurt here?

Well. ... The immediate Fantasy impact isn't hard to figure out: Stewart, who certainly would have been a solid Fantasy RB2 prospect -- with the potential to emerge as an RB1 producer -- currently carries a late third-round ADP in both standard and PPR scoring leagues.

That comes as no real surprise.

Williams, meanwhile, is providing what I consider to be great value at his current fifth-round ADP (in both standard and PPR formats).

Remember, Williams averaged 14.5 carries per game while Stewart had just 8.5 per game. Even if they divide the workload more evenly this year, Williams remains the more explosive threat when healthy (he has missed 13 games to injury over the past two seasons).

The biggest loser?

Goodson appeared to be in line to handle a complimentary role with potential feature-back time a definite possibility given Stewart's career-long foot issues.

The biggest winner?

The man who came out farthest ahead when the Panthers re-signed Williams wasn't even a Panther. It's Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno.

Former Carolina head coach John Fox reiterated throughout the lockout that the Broncos needed another running back and we all assumed it would be Williams. Especially given a series of reports out of Denver suggesting that team officials weren't at all impressed with Moreno's on-field abilities and off-field demeanor.

But with Williams remaining in Carolina, Meanwhile, the Broncos turned to Willis McGahee who seems less likely to render Moreno moot -- at least from a Fantasy perspective -- than Williams would have. ...

Moving on to Smith's decision to remain a Panther. ... With all due respect to David Gettis, Brandon LaFell, Armanti Edwards, Charly Martin and Wallace Wright, none of them come even close to bringing what Smith brings to the table -- even heading into 11th year in the league.

Indeed, Smith's career totals speak volumes: 620 receptions, 8,884 yards, 52 touchdowns.

Of course, the team's quarterback situation will be a factor. But I think rookie Cam Newton benefits from Smiths' presence. The addition of a pair of solid receiving tight ends should work in the youngster's favor, too

In case you missed it, the team traded for Olsen last week after signing former Saint Jeremy Shockey to a contract earlier this year.

Like Shockey, Olsen played at the University of Miami. Both played for Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, who was the tight ends coach and offensive coordinator for the Hurricanes.

Olsen, who is in the final year of his rookie deal, caught 41 passes for 404 yards and five touchdowns last year in a Mike Martz offense that did not utilize the tight ends downfield.

That will not be the case with the Panthers. At his introductory press conference, Ron Rivera, who watched tight end Antonio Gates exploit defenses in San Diego, said he wanted to find a tight end who could be productive in the pass game.

Now the Panthers have found two, although Olsen has less mileage on his legs than the 30-year-old Shockey.

They also signed blocking tight end Ben Hartsock, giving them a complete overhaul at the position.

Worth noting? Chudzinski's offense will be a bit more creative than what we're used to from the Panthers.

According to Gaston Gazette staffer Steve Reed, the Panthers will have called running plays for Newton. And some run-pass options for Williams, who has experience taking direct snaps.

“I get to utilize my hands this year and possibly throw some balls,” Williams said.

My initial thought -- until we see more this summer -- would be the Panthers plan to rely heavily on a strong rushing attack, Smith and the two tight ends to ease Newton's transition to the NFL. It's a wise approach.

And while I'm a firm believer in the notion that everybody has value at some point in the draft, I'm not too keen on anybody involved in the Panthers' passing attack at this point. That could change. And I could argue that Smith is draftworthy regardless of his quarterback.

But he's not a guy I'd want to rely on given the circumstances.

A player I might?

Mare, who received a signing bonus of $4 million and will supplant long-time Panther John Kasay, is a career 88.1-percent kicker and had 42 touchbacks on kickoffs in the past two seasons. In other words, an accurate kicker with a strong leg playing with an offense that is likely to be vertically challenged?

I might be able to use him. As long as he's still available when I pick my kickers (with one of my last two picks -- without fail).