Fantasy Football: Biggest takeaways from Week 1

There are a few ways to handle Week 1 of the football season as a Fantasy owner. Assuming you avoided injuries to big names like C.J. Anderson, Dez Bryant or DeSean Jackson, you can stand pat and roll with the team you drafted heading into Week 2. If you liked Greg Olsen, Ryan Tannehill and Justin Forsett enough to invest a precious draft pick in them two weeks ago, four quarters of football shouldn't be enough to cause you to panic.

Or, you could panic! It's totally up to you. Not every player who has a bad Week 1 is bound to turn it around; not every player who breaks out unexpectedly is bound to regress back to the mean. If you entered the season with a few shaky spots on your roster, you might want to make moves early on.

We've still got two games to get through Monday night before Week 1 is officially in the books, but here are Scott White and I's biggest takeaways from a thrilling NFL kickoff Sunday.

1. It's OK to be worried about Peyton Manning

Our knee-jerk, hot take-centric sports culture demands that we overreact to everything, and you can definitely see that happening with the Broncos after Week 1. That doesn't mean Manning's struggles should just be brushed off, especially since they are a continuation of a trend that started late last season. Going back to Week 12 of 2014, Manning has six touchdowns to seven interceptions, while throwing for fewer than 250 yards in five of seven games. He has completed just 59.7 percent of his passes in that span as well, while averaging 6.5 yards per attempt. The Ravens should have a very strong defense, and the Broncos' offensive line really struggled Sunday, so this might just be a blip on the radar; on the other hand, he's 39 years old and coming off a pretty serious injury. The wheels are going to come off at some point, as they do for everyone. I'm not betting against him, but there's at least a chance this is his 2010 Brett Favre or 1999 Dan Marino season, right? -Chris Towers

2. Tight end just got a whole lot deeper

Looks like tight end was the position to punt on Draft Day this year. You're almost better off not being confined at the position. Some owners are going to have to pass up some of the better waiver claims this week simply because they can't justify having another tight end on their roster. Tyler Eifert is the main attraction, of course. He was expected to play a lead role with Jermaine Gresham out of the picture, and boy, did he ever. He's the one I'd look at add regardless of need, but Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who also topped 100 yards with two touchdowns, and Jordan Reed, a blast from the past, look like favorites of their new quarterbacks and represent upgrades over Kyle Rudolph and Dwayne Allen, among others. Eric Ebron, Jared Cook, Ladarius Green, Darren Fells and Heath Miller are also in the discussion. -Scott White

3. Ronnie Hillman, David Johnson and Danny Woodhead are the RBs to add

With C.J. Anderson dealing with a toe injury and Andre Ellington injuring his knee, Hillman and Johnson have a chance to play bigger roles in the next few weeks. Johnson will probably be the backup in Arizona if Ellington sits out, but Chris Johnson still got 10 carries and a target with Ellington healthy, so David Johnson should figure into the plans -- especially after icing the game with a 55-yard touchdown catch-and-run. As for Woodhead, we probably just discounted how big a role he would have in our excitement over rookie Melvin Gordon. Woodhead was getting goal-line work, in addition to his 12 carries and usual yeoman's work in the passing game. He can be a low-end RB2 in PPR leagues. -Chris Towers

4. Marcus Mariota deserves a roster spot

The matchup makes it hardly an open-and-shut case -- as would any one-game sample -- but Mariota looks like one of those rare rookie quarterbacks who'll be a hit in Fantasy right away, much like Cam Newton in 2011. True, he attempted only 16 passes, but that's partially because those 16 passes were so good. The Titans spent basically the entire second half running out the clock. No, he won't throw four touchdowns every week, but the efficiency he showed, completing 13 of those 16 passes, in his first game against a bona fide NFL team for an offensive-minded head coach in Ken Whisenhunt tells me he could be something special. You may feel like you're set at quarterback already, but as with Newton in 2011, Mariota is worth a flier now just in case he proves good enough to overtake whomever you have. -Scott White

5. Darren McFadden isn't the answer in Dallas

Whether Joseph Randle is the answer at running back to replace DeMarco Murray remains to be seen -- he didn't exactly impress Sunday night -- but McFadden looked like the same old guy, picking up just 16 yards on six carries in the game. If you're speculating on the Dallas backfield -- and you very much should be, given their All-World offensive line combination -- McFadden probably deserves to be behind Randle, Christine Michael and Lance Dunbar, who was especially impressive in Sunday's game. Dunbar hauled in eight passes for 70 yards and was a consistent feature for Tony Romo. He could be Dallas' version of Shane Vereen if they continue to go with running back by committee. -Chris Towers

6. Alfred Blue may in fact be useless

Whether or not Arian Foster returns in Week 2 (or Week 3, which CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora called the "worst case scenario" Sunday) is irrelevant. Foster could miss the first eight weeks and I still don't know that Blue would be worth starting based on what we saw in Week 1. The Texans went all 2014 Browns on us with the three-headed backfield, giving Jonathan Grimes and Chris Polk a combined 11 carries to Blue's nine. Blue was the best of the three, but he wasn't so good that you'd expect them to change course next time out. On a team with a shaky quarterback situation, he won't find enough running room to survive with a split workload. -Scott White

7. Keenan Allen is back

Allen racked up 166 yards, and what makes it most impressive is how consistent he was. There weren't any long plays where he chewed up huge chunks of yardage; Allen was just catching everything in sight for 10-15 yards at a time, ultimately ending up with 15 receptions. Allen burst onto the scene with a big rookie season, but averaged just 10.2 yards per catch in a disappointing second season. Sunday's YPC average wasn't much better -- 11.1 -- but averaged 5.3 yards after the catch, a nice improvement over last year's 4.0 mark. With Antonio Gates still out three more games, Allen should remain Philip Rivers' favorite target, and that means very good things for his Fantasy appeal. -Chris Towers

8. Percy Harvin lives

Who actually held out hope of Harvin making a relevant Fantasy contribution? Liars! OK, so somebody must have judging by his 66 percent ownership rate, but it certainly wasn't me. And it really shouldn't have been you either after he fizzled with both the Seahawks and the Jets. But there he was catching a 51-yard bomb from Tyrod Taylor in the first quarter and leading the Bills in both catches and targets. Granted, it was a weird game. The Bills led by so much so early that Taylor attempted only 19 passes total, and maybe if they were playing from behind Sammy Watkins would have been more involved. But Harvin has the talent and role to matter in Fantasy, and this performance was a good first step to winning back our trust. -Scott White

9. Don't go crazy buying James Jones stock

Yes, Jones scored twice in his return to the Packers, and has always had a nose for the end zone. However, he was targeted just four times and has never averaged more than 58 yards per game. His role in that offense should make him a viable play most weeks, but he has always been touchdown dependent even when things were going well. I would still rather have Davante Adams, but Jones has some appeal in a Flex spot. -Chris Towers

10. Same old Saints with the running game

Mark Ingram owners probably aren't disappointed today. After all, their third-round pick just had eight catches for 98 yards. But is that something you should expect from him? He wasn't much of a pass catcher in his first four years with the Saints, and perhaps as soon as next week, C.J. Spiller will be back from knee surgery, presumably to function as sort of a third-down type. The more important takeaway for Ingram owners is that he got only nine carries to Khiry Robinson's eight. You drafted him thinking he'd carry the load, but it's as much of a timeshare as ever. So if he doesn't remain an integral part of the passing game, his production in Fantasy will come down to how often the Saints get inside the 5-yard line that week. -Scott White