Coming into the season, expectations were predictably high for the Broncos' offense. Running back C.J. Anderson was a popular first-round pick and receiver Demaryius Thomas wasn't far off.
The tip of what we expected to be one of the league's most lethal spears was, of course, Peyton Manning, who was coming off the board 20th overall on average in CBSSports.com. Throw in Emmanuel Sanders and four different Broncos were off the board in the first 30 picks on average.
How's that working out for you?
Sanders has mostly lived up to expectations, averaging 17.0 PPR points per game, and Thomas is getting his yards -- 83.2 per game -- but has scored just once. Anderson is barely holding off Ronnie Hillman for the No. 1 back role and has averaged a paltry 2.6 yards per rush attempt so far.
And, of course, there's Manning, at the center of it all.
When you drafted Anderson, Sanders or Thomas, it was with the expectation that Manning was going to shepherd the offense to the lofty heights we're used to seeing from him. Instead, the 39-year-old is off to his worst start since his rookie season, with six touchdowns and seven interceptions -- and he's lucky that latter number isn't a lot higher. Manning is completing a lower percentage of his passes than any season since 2001 and his yards per attempt -- 6.5 -- is his lowest since he was a rookie.
And it isn't just a five-game stretch, which might make it easier to write off. In the first 11 games of the 2014 season, Manning looked like the Hall of Fame quarterback we've all come to know, but his last 11 have marked a significant shift:
| Stretch | Comp% | Y/A | TD% | INT% |
| First 11 games of 2014 | 68.1 | 8.05 | 7.7 | 2.03 |
| Last 11 games (incl. playoffs) | 61.5 | 6.7 | 3.08 | 3.33 |
At his age -- and with the knowledge that the neck issues that nearly ended his career have caused ongoing issues with numbness in his fingers -- it isn't unfair to assume that Manning is going to fall of a cliff at some point. We know he wasn't going to be a Fantasy stud forever -- time defeats everyone.
Manning can still be useful for Fantasy at times, as he showed in Weeks 2 and 3, but it's pretty clear he isn't the guy we expected coming into the season. When you took the likes of Anderson, Sanders and Thomas early, you did so with the expectation that Manning was the kind of rising tide that could lift all the boats with him. He pretty clearly isn't that guy anymore.
1. Doug Martin is back
Through the first three weeks of the season, it looked like more of the same for Martin, who rushed for just 3.8 yards per carry and had a high of nine Fantasy points. Martin, who averaged just 3.6 and 3.7 yards per carry in two seasons since his stellar rookie campaign, looked well on his way to another disappointing season -- and possibly a benching. That seems unlikely after his last two games, during which he has racked up 301 all-purpose yards on 52 touches. This is the first time Martin has posted consecutive 100-yard rushing performances since midway through his rookie season, and matches his total from the last 17 games. The Buccaneers are giving Martin tons of touches and he's finally doing something with them. They'll lean on him heavily with rookie Jameis Winston under center. - Chris Towers
2. Devonta Freeman is the hero we need but don't deserve
Remember when Freeman was supposed to be the ultimate sell-high guy? Not everyone felt that way, of course, but it was the prevailing viewpoint after back-to-back three-score games. Hopefully this is the last time we'll have to address it in this space, though, because his Week 5 performance should have ended the debate once an for all. And it was against what was purported to be another stellar run defense, as the Cowboys and Texans were before Freeman gashed them. No, he didn't score three touchdowns against the Redskins, but he did set a set a new high with 153 rushing yards and exceeded 30 touches for the second time in three games, something only two running backs have done even once this year. And this time, he did it with Tevin Coleman, the man he replaced, in uniform, limiting him to only two touches. So he's an every-down, dual-threat back whose team should consistently put him in position to score. Given the landscape of the running back position today, I hope we now realize what a blessing that is. -Scott White
3. Tennessee, Washington backfields are poison
Who is the No. 1 running back in Tennessee? Is it Antonio Andrews, who scored the Titans' lone rushing touchdown in Week 5, but had just 9 yards otherwise? Is it Dexter McCluster, who led the team in snaps but has more than nine touches in a game just once? Is it Bishop Sankey? Does it matter? The story in Washington is the same, as Chris Thompson, Matt Jones and Alfred Morris each played at least 14 snaps in Sunday's game against the Falcons -- none played more than 43 percent of the teams' total plays on offense. You know the saying about how having multiple quarterbacks means you don't have any? That applies to these backfields, at least for Fantasy. You can't start anyone here unless you are absolutely desperate. - Chris Towers
4. Todd Gurley is the man in St. Louis
Another confirmation case here. Many of us suspected Gurley would take on a monster workload after his second-half breakthrough in Week 4, but he couldn't have done it in a louder way than he did Week 5 at Green Bay. Not only did he become just the third running back to carry the ball 30 times in a game this year, but he did it with the Rams trailing by two scores much of the afternoon. And he was successful with it. He looked powerful. He showed plenty of burst. He looks fully equipped to handle such a workload, and coach Jeff Fisher's old-school model of defense and ball control should allow it to continue. If that's true even when the Rams are in catch-up mode, imagine when they're protecting a lead -- one Gurley probably gave him because they've now turned over the keys to him. In a league dominated by quarterbacks, that's true for maybe only one other running back -- Adrian Peterson. Good company, huh? -Scott White
5. We buried the Eagles offense too early
We've been quick to overreact to just about everything Chip Kelly does in the NFL, alternately proclaiming him a genius or a false prophet with every good or bad performance. So it's no surprise many declared the Eagles' offense dead after the first quarter of the season, during a time in which they were averaging just 294 yards of total offense and 17.8 points per game. However, in Week 4, Sam Bradford finally started to look comfortable, throwing the ball 20-plus yards downfield eight times. He followed that up with six downfield chucks in Week 5 after doing so just seven times in the first three games. Bradford hasn't had much success going deep, but opening up the downfield passing game appears to have paid benefits overall, as the Eagles' offense has looked a lot less cramped lately. I don't think it is a coincidence the running game looks vastly improved now that Bradford has shown a willingness to take the top off. -Chris Towers
6. Maybe we don't want Marshawn Lynch to return
Thomas Rawls' 169-yard performance would probably resonate more if coach Pete Carroll hadn't been saying all week that Lynch is just a week away from returning. But of course, he's not back yet, and the question you have to ask yourself now is do you really want him to be? Rawls just had his second 100-yard game in three against a no-slouch Bengals defense and looked much like Lynch doing it, shaking off would-be tacklers and driving through others to extend the length of runs. Lynch, meanwhile, is a 29-year-old who has never shied away from contact and has a lot of mileage on his legs. He averaged 3.4 yards per carry in the three games he played, all against shaky run defenses, and you have to assume he won't be 100 percent when he does return. Maybe a full week of practice will get his hamstring barking again and keep Rawls in the lineup. You'll want to have the rookie ready to go in that case. -Scott White
7. Cleveland has something with the passing game
Going against a Ravens defense that has struggled against the pass, Josh McCown was a good streaming option for Week 5. He came through with one of the best passing performances of the season thus far by any quarterback. Tight end Gary Barnidge is a real weapon in the middle of the field, both Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell have the ability to make plays in the passing game and Travis Benjamin seems to have evolved into a reliable receiver. Of course, with the Broncos, Rams, Cardinals and Bengals on the schedule in consecutive weeks coming up, you might not have much more time to use McCown. This passing game has life, but I'm not trusting McCown against those defenses. -Chris Towers
8. The Saints' passing game still has plenty to offer
In a game they lost 39-17, you wouldn't think the Saints would have anything to celebrate, but they took steps toward healing their passing attack. It begins with Drew Brees' arm, which finally allowed him to stretch the field after a week off and a week of mostly underneath routes that couldn't unlock the full potential of the receiving corps. And so unlock that potential he did, completing six passes for 141 yards to new favorite Willie Snead and five passes for 107 yards to Brandin Cooks, heretofore a bust. Snead, who led the team with 11 targets, has seen his role increase in four consecutive weeks and is looking like a must-add, but Cooks' performance may be the more notable one in Fantasy. The Saints had been using him mostly on high-percentage passes, relying on him to pick up yards after the catch, but he was vertical in this one, beating the secondary on a 46-yard bomb in the third quarter and also a 14-yard touchdown catch on the game's final play. -Scott White
9. There's enough room for two Allen's in Jacksonville
The Jaguars probably want to limit Blake Bortles' exposure, but the team's defensive struggles have made it tough. He has thrown at least 33 passes in each of the team's first five games. The sheer volume of throws has made Bortles a passable Fantasy option and that has helped out his top two receivers -- Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, both of whom have 400-plus yards and at least three touchdowns in five games. Robinson is the clear No. 1, with 12 more targets than Hurns, but Hurns has been a bit more reliable, catching 75 percent of the passes thrown his way. With the Jaguars playing from behind so often -- only one player has dropped back to pass more often than Bortles (Alex Smith) -- the target volume is going to be there for both. Robinson is a WR2 while Hurns might be the best WR3 in Fantasy. - Chris Towers
10. The Cardinals have too many running backs
Don't get me wrong: Chris Johnson has done nothing to lose carries and was probably the Cardinals' best running back again in Week 5, topping 100 yards on the 11 carries he got. But the problem is he was one of three instead of two. Coach Bruce Arians had intimated that David Johnson would be out of the rotation with the return of Andre Ellington from a sprained knee, but there the rookie was scoring two touchdowns on short runs in only the second quarter, not the fourth when the Cardinals already had a big lead. No, in the fourth, it was Andre Ellington breaking out with a 63-yard run. Granted, that was one of only three carries he had with the Cardinals easing him back in, but it gave them plenty of incentive to use him going forward. So if Johnson' isn't the Cardinals' only choice in the open field and perhaps not their first at the goal line, is he someone you can trust every week in Fantasy? -Scott White
