Fantasy Football 2016: Takeaways After Week 1

Joseph Espy, Reporter

With week 1 of the 2016 Fantasy Football season in the books, many great stories emerged from disappointing stars to breakout rookies, week one failed to disappoint with many great performances around the league.

Every season one of the biggest stories in the fantasy media is the player with the greatest expectations who finishes with a disappointing performance week one. “I would say Ezekiel Elliot was the biggest disappointment in his rookie debut. He was projected a top five Running Back running behind the best offensive line in the league and finished with a mere 50 yards on 20 carries,” claimed Junior Ryan O’Sullivan.

On the other hand, there are also those players that jump on the scene in their first game of the season with a solid performance causing waivers to fill up and hype for the rest of the week. “I would say DeAngelo Williams with his shocking two touchdowns and 140 rush yards. He’s 33 and wasn’t even the starter until Le’veon Bell got suspended,” added O’Sullivan.

With each fantasy season brings playoff aspirations for owners. Having consistent fantasy producers can prove critical in finding long-term success. “I would have to go with Antonio Brown because he has averaged double digit fantasy points in his career and is hands down one of the most reliable players in the league,” argued O’Sullivan.

While Elliot disappointed in his rookie debut, Will Fuller of the Houston Texans did the total opposite. The rookie wide receiver out of Notre Dame opened many eyes with his five reception 107-yard game while also catching a touchdown pass. Texans star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins saw double coverage for the majority of the game opening up space for the speedy Fuller to operate.

Sunday also brought many impressive fantasy performances from quarterbacks including Drew Brees and Andrew Luck. Brees delivered a monster performance of four touchdowns and 423 passing yards, good for 30 fantasy points. After a long absence from the football, Luck returned with a bang throwing for four touchdowns and 385 yards. Although both quarterbacks came up on the losing end of their games, their fantasy value is surely not in doubt.

Week one of the NFL season brought great excitement for fantasy players with breakouts and disappointments setting up for an eventful week two with even more surprises.