ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: What player surprised or disappointed you most in Week 1?
JUSTIN ELEFF
Maybe he'll get a little lost having done it on Thursday, but Kelvin Benjamin impressed me plenty. Doesn't look like he lost anything at all in his year on the sidelines; if anything he looks better now than the guy who debuted with 1,008 yards and 9 TDs in 2014. He's still jumbo-sized, obviously, still excellent at making room for himself wherever his route happens to take him, and he makes up for the occasional drop by catching some balls no one else could reach. Add to all of that the strong possibility that the Panthers are now worse at defending the pass, and thus will give up more points and have more of a need to throw in 2016 (the jury may remain out on this until Week 4, when they finally start to face better quarterbacks), and I'm confident that his first game back portends bigger things to come. On the disappointing side, if Coby Fleener isn't going to do anything in a shootout with a Raiders team that was lousy against tight ends last season, when exactly is he supposed to morph into the dearly departed Jimmy Graham? Answer: he won't, ever, because he can't; one game into his Saints career after several disappointing years with the Colts, I'm secure in my view that the guy is just not good.
Eleff hosts the Fantasy Index Podcast, available in the iTunes Store now. He has worked for Fantasy Index off and on all century.
SAM HENDRICKS
DeAngelo Williams really caught my eye with 35 fantasy points on 143 rushing yards, 2 TDs and 6 catches for 28 yards. Wow! He really is in the best shape of his career. And the combination of Big Ben's gunslinger arm and Williams runs helps the Steelers offense click. He faces some tough defenses the next two weeks and then L. Bell comes back, so his superstar performance may be short-lived. At least just for 2 more games. But then again Bell is not the healthiest RB in the league...
Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 25 year fantasy football veteran who participates in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He is drafting live in the FFPC in Vegas this year. He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013. Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.
ALAN SATTERLEE
Well I think the most disappointing by far had to be the play of Todd Gurley. We all knew quarterback play for the Rams would be an issue but last week's inability to even pick up a few first downs was very bad (and San Francisco came into the season giving up the most rushing touchdowns to running backs last year). If we re-drafted today I doubt Gurley would go in the first round. All that said, it can't always be that bad and Gurley is immensely talented and will continue to get a heavy workload so stay calm and I would keep Gurley in the lineup this week against Seattle. On the positive side, I knew Willie Snead would have plenty of fantasy value, but that week one performance had to have shattered everyone's expectations. As bad as the Saints defense is, he will remain a strong play but if you can sell for very high dollar that would a plus too (note that the Saints have a tough schedule in the middle of the season).
Satterlee is a co-owner and senior writer for Dynasty Football Warehouse. DFW is comprehensive site covering dynasty, redraft, IDP and Daily formats. DFW has a large writing crew with many people from the DFW community contributing to the insights and discussion. Alan is also the Fantasy Football Insider for the Charlotte Observer and is syndicated in a few other newspapers in the southeast.
DAVID DOREY
The success of Spencer Ware for Kansas City was impressive but mostly troubling. He was very successful as both a rusher (11-70) and a receiver (7-129) but Charcandrick West still had six catches himself. Once Jamaal Charles is healthy, exactly what can we rely on or expect? Seems like a backfield with plenty of points and yet risky to expect any individual to consistently get them.
Dorey is the co-founder and lead NFL analyst for The Huddle and author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level. He has projected and predicted every NFL game and player performance since 1997 and has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, radio and television.
ANDY RICHARDSON
One that stands out is Ameer Abdullah. I'd written him off as a receiver with Theo Riddick there, but Abdullah caught a bunch of passes and finished with a really strong game; I let him fall too far in drafts. A pleasant surprise was Matt Forte, a workhorse with 26 touches in Week 1. The biggest disappointment thus far (aside from Keenan Allen tearing his ACL) is Sammy Watkins. A quiet opener, and an aggravated foot injury. The fact that I took him one spot before Brandin Cooks in a league adds insult to the injury. Cooks looks like he's going to be the guy we thought he'd be this time last year.
Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts draft and auction leagues since their inception. He previews all the NFL games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays during the NFL season.