For those of you who are new to our weekly Warning Signals piece, the purpose of this article is to analyze several players who have become concerning so far this season. Obviously some will be more worrisome than others but the overall gist is to keep an eye out for how these particular players progress in the coming weeks. Some will need to be benched or traded, others will be just fine in time.

I should point out, however, that you're not going to see players who are currently dealing with fresh injuries after the first week of the year. Health concerns will always and should always trump disappointing performances. An unhealthy player is unlikely to be a superstar so you Demaryius Thomas and Russell Wilson owners are going to have to hang tough before we start diving into their outlook for the rest of 2016. Instead, this is going to focus on guys who should either be stars or are at the very least could contend for a spot in your starting lineup.

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• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• NFL rookie fantasy football rankings
• Best ball fantasy football rankings
• Superflex fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Heed the Warning Signs

Lastly, the rule of thumb for a player appearing in Warning Signals is that they can't be added to the list more than three times. Occasionally a player will get a pass if there are additional circumstances surrounding his performance. An injury, suspension, or trade, for example, would open him back up to additional analysis. Beyond that, players are what they are after a certain point so it's best to keep the names fresh. Let's get it going.

Tyrod Taylor - (QB, BUF)

Right out of the gate we have ourselves the player I'm most concerned with after one game. For a player who many talked up as a sleeper for 2016 (myself included), 111 passing yards for zero touchdowns just isn't going to cut it. Even his rushing numbers were lackluster, ending Sunday's contest with just 11 yards on the ground. It's a rough start and when you consider just how deep the quarterback position is for fantasy purposes, it's hard to be patient for longer than a week or two.

I think there are two schools of thought with how you should go about handling Tyrod Taylor. For those of you who decided to pair him with the suspended Tom Brady, you should just cut bait now and see if someone like Matthew Stafford or Matt Ryan is available on waivers. You only need a second QB for another three weeks and you'd never start Taylor over Brady while both are eligible to play so don't bother dealing with the possible headache. On the flip side, however, those who waited on quarterback or are starting Taylor in a deeper league are going to have to be more patient. Taylor has enough upside to warrant holding onto going forward, I just wouldn't want him as my only option. Stafford and Ryan are more proven commodities you can play the matchups with until T-Mobile rights the ship. It's a tricky situation, for sure, I just can't see myself giving up on him after one week unless you're in the aforementioned Brady situation.

Adrian Peterson - (RB, MIN)

Get ready for a heavy dose of highly drafted running backs in the next few names. Luckily, Adrian Peterson is the least concerning member of the group for me. The untrained eye will look at Peterson's 31 rushing yards and be tempted to hit the panic button. If you dig a little furhter back to last year, though, you'd notice that Peterson also started slow in 2015. In fact, his rushing total against San Francisco in the 2015 opener on Monday Night Football? 31 rushing yards. He then proceeded to lead the league in rushing on the year. It's highly possible that at age 31, AD just happens to be a slow starter at this point in his career. He's going to be just fine so don't sweat it.

Todd Gurley - (RB, LA)

Let's face facts here; the Los Angeles Rams are terrible. Ahead of the 2016 season, there were a few arguments about how Todd Gurley's fantasy outlook was bleak due to how bad the Rams might be this year. Personally, I shrugged those concerns off since I lean more toward talent and it's not like Gurley was bad last year. But after Monday Night's 28-0 beatdown, it's hard not to freak out.

Gurley ended the night with just 47 yards and it isn't going to get any easier against the Seahawks in week two. All that being said, I'm not abandoning ship after one game. This is a situation you're going to want to monitor and I think keeping Gurley on a short leash in terms of fantasy is the right approach. I'm looking ahead to week three against Tampa Bay and week five against the Buffalo Bills for some big breakout performances out of Gurley.

Devonta Freeman - (RB, ATL)

Admittedly, I was never a big Devonta Freeman supporter heading into this season. I felt like he was being overvalued by fantasy owners who remember his insane touchdown streak while forgetting that he was bad down the stretch in 2015. Now, after one game with just 40 total yards, I'm warming up my "I told you so" finger wag. Perhaps even more concerning than Freeman's individual performance was the fact that fellow RB Tevin Coleman snagged five receptions for 95 yards. Freeman's numbers were padded by his usage in the passing game and if the Falcons are going to look at Coleman for that role, Freeman is going to suffer even more than initially feared.

This is the type of situation where I'd at least send out some feelers before it's too late. There might be an owner in your league who believes in Freeman's touchdown ability from last year and is willing to pay his draft-day value for him. Why not see if you can snipe a combination of C.J. Anderson and a wide receiver? I think Freeman and Anderson are a lot closer than their ADP suggested back in August so it's a reasonable deal if you can gain an additional piece.

Dez Bryant - (WR, DAL)

Everyone knows what happened to the Cowboys last year once Dez Bryant and Tony Romo went down with severe injuries. Their season became completely derailed and with Romo out once again, it's within the realm of possibility that Dez will falter once again. This time, however, rookie Dak Prescott has shown some promise as an NFL quarterback. Unfortunately, none of that prowess came at Bryant's benefit as Prescott mostly funneled his passes to Cole Beasley and Jason Witten.

If Adrian Peterson represents the "not worried" section of this list and Tyrod Taylor is the "panic button," Dez Bryant falls somewhere in the middle with a lean toward the former. I don't think he's going to be the superstar he usually is with Romo under center but he should bounce back as a borderline WR1. There's going to be some Josh Norman chatter heading into week two so try not to pull your hair out if Bryant's bounceback gets delayed another week. I don't think Norman is a true "shut down" corner but he's a legitimate defensive threat who can at least hinder a top wideout's fantasy value a smidgen.

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